NHS staff offered Zumba to stay healthy

[annie]

NHS staff will be offered exercise classes in a bid to keep them fit and in work, NHS England's chief executive is set to announce.

Simon Stevens will outline his £5m solution for cutting the NHS bill for staff sickness, which currently stands at £2.4bn a year.

He will say hospitals can help staff stay well by serving healthy food and running Zumba and yoga classes.

He will add that GPs should be offered specialist support to avoid burnout.

Creating healthy and supportive workplaces is no longer a "nice to have, it's a must do", he will tell the NHS Innovation Expo conference in Manchester.

Organisations will be asked to provide staff access to physiotherapy, smoking cessation and weight management services, as well as sports or exercise classes.

And they should offer health checks for mental health and musculoskeletal problems - the two biggest causes of sickness absence across the NHS.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34120675

[maureenho]

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