Health Minister announces £10m to improve health at work

6th September 2007

Health minister Ivan Lewis has announced £10 million of capital funding to finance new NHS Plus demonstration sites to improve the occupational healthcare services offered to small and medium sized businesses...

This second phase of £10m capital funding for 2008/09 follows £10m allocated in April 2007 which has successfully been used to finance five innovative demonstration sites around the country. This further £10m will be available from April 2008 and used to support a further three to six demonstration sites to drive further innovation in the way occupational healthcare services are delivered. NHS Plus aims to tackle the work-related health problems suffered by employees and help them to get back to work. These new sites will generate pioneering models of good practice in occupational healthcare from which others can learn right across the country. This will directly contribute towards the policy goals set out in the 'Choosing Health' White paper.

Health minister Ivan Lewis said:

"I am delighted that we are building on the success of the current schemes and providing an opportunity for more people to benefit from the work of NHS Plus. This £10m to support new pilot sites will reap huge rewards for employees, the NHS and society in general by having a healthier and more productive workforce. We want people to be healthy at work and for businesses to flourish. The pioneering occupational health support provided by NHS Plus through innovative projects, is the kind of thing that will make the difference. I look forward to seeing the new sites up and running, and I encourage expressions of interest to the Department of Health."

NHS Plus provides valuable occupational healthcare services to both small and medium sized businesses and the NHS workforce. Small businesses make up a significant part of the UK economy and the vast majority of them do not access occupational health support. NHS Plus concentrates on this area by preventing ill-health and injuries that are both caused by work or general health problems that are made worse by working. It helps employees return to work when their employment has been interrupted by such illnesses or disability. This is excellent business sense for employers of all sizes as it brings real and immediate benefits to both the business and its workers - including the NHS. For example, NHS Plus can help to reduce the costs of employee sickness absence by advising on ways to manage the problem. It can also give easy and straightforward guidance on how to take steps to prevent occupational health problems such as workplace asthma, back pain and stress. For many businesses, these problems directly affect their productivity and the wellbeing of their workers.

Welcoming the announcement of the funding, Dr Kit Harling, Director of NHS Plus, said:

"This will be a great advantage to the NHS workforce but we must not forget that the needs of small and medium sized businesses are key priority in this work. This fund offers a further opportunity to develop high quality and innovative occupational healthcare services for these businesses. We need to instil real changes in their occupational health practices and this new funding has the power to do this - positive evidence from this year demonstrates the powerful lever investment like this has on changing occupational health working practices."

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