NHS Trust Focuses On Staff Health

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 18 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Hydration expert, Water Wellpoint is playing a key role in helping public sector employers look after the health and wellbeing of their staff. The company has recently been working with East London NHS Foundation Trust to run a series of wellbeing days, giving employees the ability to check key aspects of their health in a total voluntary format.

"We already focus on ways to promote staff health, including providing access to occupational health services and counselling" confirmed Diane Aston of the East London NHS Foundation Trust. "However the Water Wellpoint initiative enables us to give employees access to a range of healthchecks in a totally confidential and voluntary way. This means individuals do not feel any peer pressure and are empowered to take control of their personal health, giving them individual goals and advice."

The Water Wellpoint is a unique interactive health kiosk that allows individuals to self-test themselves at work using six key indicators of their general health. The vital signs include weight, hydration quota, body mass index, body fat content, heart rate and blood pressure and can be measured simply and accurately in around five minutes. The Water Wellpoint kiosk offers a quick and easy early-warning system for potential problems, as well as a way for each individual to highlight areas they can work on to improve their personal health and wellbeing.

More than 330 staff at East London NHS Foundation Trust were given access to the Wellpoint kiosk at the end of April 2009. Each individual was given their own test results. Plus, an anonymised report on the overall results was provided to the Trust, giving it the ability to assess the overall health of its staff.

"The health of staff in any organisation is crucial, but especially in the public sector, where budgets are increasingly stretched" confirmed Ben McGannan, Managing Director, Water Wellpoint. "Wellbeing initiatives can play an important role in creating a more positive working environment and it is particularly exciting to be working with public sector organisations like the East London NHS Foundation Trust.

"Our Wellpoint programmes are designed to fit seamlessly into any company, whether it's part of an overall wellbeing policy or just a simple health check to motivate staff. Organisations like the East London NHS Foundation Trust need to be able to use wellbeing initiatives in a way that works for them and the Wellpoint kiosk, combined with seminars and health advice offer an effective and affordable way for them to help staff take responsibility for their own wellbeing."

"The Wellpoint wellbeing days perfectly complement our existing healthcare services for employees, helping us create a healthier, happier workforce", concluded Diane Aston. "By giving our staff the opportunity to take control of their health, we gain greater productivity, raise staff morale and reduce costs associated with staff absence, which is essential."

June 2009

* Wellpoint is a registered trademark solely owned by the Wellpoint Group Limited

Source
NHS Foundation Trust

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