Lookout Northern Physio's with Occupational Health Contracts
Having already lost out on an UK wide tender for a long-standing contract with Unilever a couple of years ago, I can only summise. And who did I lose out to? BUPA! I expect that they are providing these services more and more through their centralized Wellness centers.
But then they need therapists to work for them, don't they. And for a while I think perhaps they've been getting the <5yr post graduation staff we other private practitioners haven't really been able to employ. The idea in itself is perhaps one worthy of merit. However it may well affect many regional physio's with contracts up for re-tender in the future.
Read on and see why their average patients sessions are so low. They are perhaps running advice centers more than anything else.
This is an extract from their own website.
Quote:
£4M wellness centre gets employees fit for business
8 April 2009
A new £4m flagship health and wellness centre opens today in Station Road, Solihull to keep Midlands employees fit and healthy. Bupa has invested more than £1m in the very latest technology making it the first of a new generation of wellness centres which could be rolled out nationally.
With services designed to meet the healthcare needs of both large and small businesses, bosses can either send their staff to the centre or offer Bupa workplace health services on the company’s own premises.
The two-story development boasts 24 consulting and treatment rooms, its own laboratories and dental and radiology suites. It has capacity to treat more than 5,000 people a year and is staffed by a team of doctors and therapists offering employers and their staff the latest in medical checks and health advice.
Dr Mike McGhee, regional physician for Bupa Wellness said: “In the UK, on average, a million people report sick each week. Workplace absence costs British businesses a small fortune: £13.4 billion a year – that’s an average of seven days absence per employee or 3.3 percent of all working time. We also know that people in poor health are 20 percent less productive. Our team of occupational health nurses and doctors can assess fitness for work and encourage people to return to work as soon as possible.
"In the current economic climate, whether you’re running a large or small business, keeping your staff healthy, well and at work is vital to stay competitive. Our new facility is the health and wellness centre of the future. As well as health assessments to detect problems early, we also offer services to keep staff healthy and well, including exercise and fitness, dentistry and non-surgical treatments," he said.
Musculoskeletal problems and obesity are two of the biggest causes of workplace ill-health. The centre’s team of doctors, physiotherapists and osteopaths can help people with back, neck and sports injuries and support those who need to get fit and back to work. Specialist health coaching can help employees achieve a healthy weight or reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Private GP services, health assessments and bespoke health and fitness programmes are also available so that people can diagnose problems early, return to fitness and maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. A GP referral is not necessary.
"The physical and psychological benefits of a health assessment are clear. A staggering 97 percent of people, undertaking a Bupa health assessment report feeling reassured with three-quarters prompted to make positive changes to their lifestyle. In addition, one in three had an undiagnosed health issue spotted, over eight in ten felt that a health assessment really showed their company cared for them; whilst over two thirds said that a company funded health assessment made them value their employer and nearly half said that this would make them more likely to stay working from the company," said Dr McGhee.
