Public Health and Healthy Businesses

Joe Capon Mark CaldwellHerts Sport Partnership St Albans Art, Sport and Health

10th September 2014

Overview of workshop

•Evidence base•Workplace health offer•Physical activity offer•Case study•Action planning•Next steps

What does the evidence say?

Established relationship between lifestyle related risk factors (diet, smoking, inactivity, obesity) and productivity, absenteeism and health claims at work.

An active workforce can reduce days off sick by up to 27% and broader absenteeism by up to 20%

NICE (May 2008)

The average Brit gives up exercise at the age of 34, with men giving up their regular exercise regime five years earlier than their female counterparts at the age of 32 while women carry on until at least 37

Benenden Healthcare (August 2007)

Local authorities now have the freedom, responsibility and funding to innovate and develop their own ways of improving public health in their local areas

Why the workplace as a setting for intervention?

Why should businesses care?

•Unhealthy workforce costs employers financially

•The do-nothing strategy of waiting for sickness isn’t cost neutral – it costs businesses

•Lifestyle related risk factors and behaviours of employees as well as unhealthy work environments and practices drive costs up.

•High risk employees incur high costs whatever the outcome measure: pharmaceutical, absenteeism, compensation costs or

productivity

Excess Productivity

LossProductivity Loss (%)

Base Cost

Number of Health Risks

(Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2005;47:769-77 (n = 28,375))

Productivity decreases with number of health risks

Hertfordshire Workplace Health offer

•Workplace Health Champions•Mental Wellbeing and Stress•NHS Health checks and Mini MOTs•Physical Activity•Weight Management•Stop Smoking Support•Alcohol and Drugs•Travel Green , Travel Healthy

Workplace Health Offer: Progress so far…

42 companies engaged in Hertfordshire ; a 50% increase since 2013

103 Workplace Health Champions trained in Royal Society of Public Health courses

223 trained employees in Mental Health First Aid Lite qualification

Workplace Challenge• www.workplacechallenge.org.uk • Free website, log your amount of sport and PA• Compete against colleagues

Sports Competitions• Delivered by HSP with partners• Team based tournaments • Inclusive sports

Health MOTs• 1-2-1 health checks with employees, 10-15mins• Body composition statistics, blood pressure, advice and guidance• Cost effective for employers

Champion Training – 18th September • Delivered by CSPN, HSP, Public Health, BHF, BITC• Networking and sharing best practice• Ideas, tools and resources to help organisations• How to get the most from the Workplace Challenge

Physical activity offer

Local Authority perspective • St Albans Sport & Health Development team within St Albans

District Council (SADC).

• Reasons for introducing physical activity into SADC –

- Further opportunities to be active for employees. - Raising the profile of local sports, activities and facilities that

are on offer. - Raise awareness of work amongst fellow employees.

Local Authority perspective • Future Plans

- After the successful beach volleyball sessions held in St Albans through Workplace challenge, 2015 will see regular sessions take place.

- More engagement from local businesses in the District linking to National and local Sport & Health initiatives for e.g. Health MOTs, Stoptober etc.

Lee James Team Leader

Partnerships & Strategic Overview)

EA Areas

15

Herts and North London

324 staffMost based in Hatfield, some in Ware, some in London

Keeping Healthy and Feeling Great!

Be Active is one of the 5 Ways to Wellbeing

There are many benefits of Being Active

You can create your free personal wellbeing programme via the Help Wellbeing Zone

Think of ways to Be Active at work, such as:

Getting out and about during your breaks

Taking the stairs, instead of the lift

It is never too late to Be Active

EA Sports and Social Clubs

74% of Herts & N London Area are S&S membersVoluntary scheme - £1/monthS&S committee administer the fundsSubsidies towards S&S eventsOrganiser goes freeEvents open to non members

17

Events Supported in 2014

18

Regular Events

19

Importance of Happiness

Happy people:Learn more quicklyMake better decisionsMake better leadersAre more creativeAre more productiveAre more physically and mentally present

Source: Excellence Canada (www.excellence.ca)

Lee James, Environment Agency, Bishop Square, Hatfieldlee.james@environment-agency.gov.uk

20

In groups of 4/5 delegates, develop a mini action plan of how your organisation can improve employee health and wellbeing using sport and physical activity.

Group task!

A call to action!

How can you help shape this agenda going forward?

What will you do?

How will this make a difference?

Thanks for participating Joe Capon

Herts Sports Partnership01707 284229

j.capon2@herts.ac.uk

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www.workplacechallenge.org.uk