Protect your team as NHS cancel elective procedures

As the NHS cancel elective procedures throughout the UK, should employers be considering how else they can protect their most valuable assets, their employees and team members?

An estimated 137.3 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury in the UK in 2016, that’s 6.3 days per worker. Multiply this by the number of employees in your business, how many day’s work is your company losing? 

Stockport’s C&C Healthcare, part of the C&C Insurance Group of companies, explain further and look at alternate ways to protect their staff and their business from unnecessary lost working days.

The majority of reasons for sick leave are non-life-threatening and treatable conditions such as common cold, headaches and injury but what about those more serious issues, could your company continue to run effectively?

Of the 137.3 million sick days, 30.8 million days where lost due to back, neck, upper limb problems (musculoskeletal conditions) and mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression accounted for 15.8 million sick days in 2016.

Last year average sickness per employee was 6.3 days, with only a third of organisations monitoring the cost of absence. The overall average cost of absence per employee per year is £522*.

Whilst the NHS funding or lack of, remains ongoing political debate and we start the new year with the NHS under enormous strain as NHS cancel elective procedures, we are all well aware that our health service is struggling to cope with ever growing demand on its services. Patients with non-life threatening conditions are experiencing lengthy, uncomfortable waiting times to be treated, seriously impacting their ability to work.

We are not in a position to revolutionise the NHS but we can help your employee’s gain access to health services quickly and efficiently. Appointments, diagnosis and treatments at convenient locations with time to spend with your Consultant could be extremely valuable to both the employee and your business. Private medical insurance provides access to most recent drugs and medical procedures available, with many providers funding cancer treatments which may not be available to all on NHS.

As an employer, are you doing all you can to support your people?

*2016 CIPD Absence Management Survey

5 Reasons you should be offering Health Insurance

• Making your employees feel valued and secure

• Speed of access to treatments

• Access to cutting edge medication

• There are solution to fit all business size

• Costs less than you think

Managing sickness effectively

• Ensure you have a written absence/attendance management policy

• Return to work interview

• Identifying and reduce workplace stress

• Be flexible and embrace needs of all staff

• Assess at your working environment and culture

Thanks to Stockport based C&C Healthcare for providing their Expert Opinion on the subject of healthcare in the UK