Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Wellbeing and health promotionWellbeingOccupational Health

Health service leader unveils £5 million plan to boost NHS staff health

by Nic Paton 30 Sep 2015
by Nic Paton 30 Sep 2015

A multimillion-pound campaign to improve the health, fitness and wellbeing of NHS staff has been launched in England.

The £5 million initiative was unveiled by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens in September. The campaign has three distinct strands: a major drive to improve the health of all NHS staff; the launch of an OH service specifically for GPs; and an initiative to work with suppliers and contractors to improve standards of food and nutrition within the NHS.

The health and wellbeing strand of the campaign will see 10 local NHS organisations and NHS England, consisting of around 55,000 staff, commit to six activities. These are:

NHS resources

NHS sickness absence and sick pay

Regulation of health professionals

Disciplinary rules and procedures in the health service

  • providing NHS health checks at work for all staff aged 40 or over;
  • providing access to physiotherapy and mental health counselling, plus smoking cessation and weight-management support;
  • ensuring that staff are able to access healthy options in restaurants, cafes and vending machines on site, as well as running targeted health promotions;
  • setting up and promoting local physical activities, such as yoga and Zumba classes, competitive team sports and cycle-to-work initiatives;
  • committing to and implementing Public Health England’s Workplace Wellbeing Centre and accreditation process, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on workplace health; and
  • identifying and appointing a board-level director and senior clinician to champion and lead activity in this area, plus offering training to line managers to support and implement the initiative.

Stevens said: “NHS staff have some of the most critical but demanding jobs in the country. When it comes to supporting the health of our own workforce, frankly the NHS needs to put its own house in order.

“At a time when arguably the biggest operational challenge facing hospitals is converting overspends on temporary agency staff into attractive flexible permanent posts, creating healthy and supportive workplaces is no longer a nice to have, it’s a must-do.”

He added that the intention is to extend the programme to all NHS employers over the next five years, targeting those with the highest rates of sickness absence and recruitment and retention pressures in 2016/17.

The initiative builds on the 2009 Boorman report into the health of NHS staff, which made a link between staff ill health and absence and poorer health outcomes and increased risk of unsafe patient care.

Employee absence, health, wellbeing and morale were also identified as factors that contributed to the failings at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

In his October 2014 Five year forward view for the NHS, Stevens identified health and wellbeing as a key area for future activity, including working with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine for advice on strengthening OH within the service.

Estimates from PHE put the cost to the NHS of staff absence because of poor health at £2.4 billion a year – accounting for around £1 in every £40 of the total budget. This figure is before the cost of agency staff to fill in gaps, as well as the cost of treatment, is taken into account.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
Profile: Jeremy Smith, occupational health consultant and business health coach
next post
Employment law changes October 2015: a six-point checklist

You may also like

Workplace stress: Why it’s time to rebrand resilience

22 May 2025

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Preparing for a new era of workforce planning...

8 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

Employers urged to do more to tackle loneliness

1 May 2025

‘Healthy work’ about much more than access to...

28 Apr 2025

Tool developed for employers to calculate cost of...

28 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today