20th August 2009 FirstCare welcomes Boorman report interim findings

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Leading absence management specialist FirstCare announced today its support of the Government-commissioned NHS health and wellbeing interim report released yesterday. The findings of the study of 11,000 employees by Dr Stuart Boorman included survey responses from 200 NHS Trusts. The findings show annual NHS sickness levels at 10.7 days a year. FirstCare works with NHS clients to reduce absence, its real-time absence data for 27,000 employees within the NHS also highlights absence as an issue. According to FirstCare absence data, the average number of days lost per full-time employee across its NHS clients in 2008 was 12.5 days a year for every full-time employee, almost two days more.

FirstCare CEO, Aaron Ross comments on the report:

“I am delighted that a report focusing on employee heath and wellbeing has been commissioned by the Government as it supports our ethos of getting staff back to health and then back to work. It is not possible to make like-for-like comparisons of our NHS absence data and the findings of the Boorman study, as the measurement parameters are so different. But what is clear from these findings, is that a stronger emphasis on managing absence is needed within the NHS. It goes deeper than simply accurately recording absence. It is about adopting a strategy that focuses on preserving the health of staff to minimise work-related sickness such as stress and having a supportive and robust return to work policy that focuses on rehabilitation and recovery. Managing absence from day one enables organisations to observe the common reasons for absence and address issues early on, in order to prevent long-term sickness and its associated problems.”

“I wholeheartedly agree that health of NHS staff should be a priority. In organisations such as the NHS, where continuity of care is paramount, focusing on helping staff back to health and back to work quickly is vital. This report suggests that there is a strong case for the NHS to do more, whilst this is true to a degree, in defence of the NHS, I’d like to make the point that it is taking great steps already. The Trusts we work with see the provision of advice-based rehabilitation as a priority. Together, we manage absence with the emphasis on achieving the restored health and wellbeing of employees and where necessary make day one referrals to occupational health, employee assistance programs and fast track physiotherapy services. We welcome a report that reiterates our core service values and look forward to reading the full report when it is released.”