More than half of businesses are concerned by long NHS waiting lists and the impact these are having on their rates of staff sickness, research has suggested.
The report from Future Health, sponsored by the Independent Healthcare Provider Network, has concluded that 52% of businesses are ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned that current NHS waiting times may result in their employees taking long absences or permanently leaving work because of sickness.
This echoes a recent report by healthcare provider HCML, which found that nearly 60% of employees say they struggle to access NHS services.
It is estimated there are currently some 3.7 million working-age people in employment with a work-limiting health condition and 2.7 million people out of work and economically inactive. NHS waiting lists remain at record levels.
The Future Health poll of more than 1,000 businesses found that over a quarter (28%) had reported an increase in sickness absence in the past 12 months. By comparison, just 10% had seen a decrease.
NHS waits
Long NHS waits hampering employee return to work
A quarter, too, (24%) said they were planning to offer or introduce more private medical insurance provision in the next 12 months. More than a fifth (22%) said they were planning to offer or introduce more employee assistance programmes.
The report also urged the government to follow through on the previous government’s consultation and introduce tax incentives for employers to invest in occupational health and employee health benefit schemes, including health checks, vaccinations and access to OH equipment.
It called for an expansion of the OH workforce through the planned refresh of the NHS Long-Term NHS workforce plan in 2025.
The NHS 10-year plan reforms needed to focus on workforce health and, in particular, the better identification and management of patients with conditions that are driving increased workforce absence, such as back pain and arthritis, it added.
The report also recommended improvements in the guidance, information and support available to small and medium-sized companies to support them in identifying and selecting OH and employee health benefit schemes.
Finally, a minimum standards framework for occupational health services in all workplaces should be introduced, the report argued.
Richard Sloggett, programme director at Future Health, said: “These findings show that the poor health of the nation and long waits for NHS treatment are a handbrake on economic growth.
“Businesses are recording increasing levels of sickness amongst their staff and are worried about long waits for NHS treatment. The decision to raise employer’s national insurance risks a reduction in investment in occupational health and employee health schemes.
“The government now needs to respond with a clear offer to businesses that incentivises employee health-related investment, supports small and medium-sized businesses in expanding their health offerings to staff along with a necessary expansion of the occupational health workforce. Growth will continue to be anaemic unless we get Britain’s workforce healthier,” he added.
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