Engage Health Group

Tag: employee health checks

  • The cancer backlog: how can employee health checks help?

    The cancer backlog: how can employee health checks help?

    Across the duration of the pandemic, every aspect of our lives has been impacted, from taking the bus to not seeing our loved ones. But one devastating effect of COVID-19 has been on cancer care, with huge numbers of missed health checks leading to missed diagnoses and delayed treatments.

    We spoke to Nikola Jack, Corporate Account Executive at Check4Cancer, providing insights into employee cancer screening tests and the huge impact of incorporating cancer screenings into your employee benefits plan.

    Engage and Check4Cancer formed a new partnership earlier this year in March – something we were very excited about, especially to help combat the effect of Covid over health screenings.

    A way that organisations can help ease the pressure off the backlog is through establishing cancer screening tests for their employees to enable them to take control of their health. A proactive approach to managing cancer helps with early detection and can lead to better treatment options and improved survival rates.
     

    What are employee health checks for cancer? 

    Employee cancer screening tests are a preventive measure that can be incorporated into an organisation’s wellbeing strategy.

    When providing these employee health checks for cancer, the two main motivations to remember are prevention (education to flag up risk factors for each type of cancer) and early detection (leading to earlier action). The earlier an employee can receive treatment, the greater the chance of successful recovery, leading to less time off work (from a business perspective!).

    Employee health checks can be offered at a range of different levels, and often most health assessments will directly support cancer health checks. Some examples of which employee health checks support cancer screening are listed below:

    • Medical History Questionnaire
    • Blood Pressure
    • Cervical Smear
    • Chest x-ray
    • Prostate Cancer Blood Test
    • Full Biochemistry Profile
    • Lung Function Test
    • Testicular Examination
    • Bowel Cancer Test
    • Breast Examination
    • Mammography

    Company Medical Insurance is also another way employers can support their staff with cancer care. This benefit plan enables employees to have access to direct treatment and specialist consultations, avoiding the NHS waiting list and speeding up the whole process. Typical covers can include:

    • Consultations with specialists
    • Diagnostic tests
    • Operations and surgical procedures
    • Cancer treatment e.g., radio/chemotherapy
    • Cancer drugs
    • Physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic treatment
    • Mental health and psychiatric treatment

     

    These employee benefits are an easy way for organisations to show they care for their staff, and target both the physical and mental fallout experienced from cancer.
     

    Current climate affecting cancer care and employee health checks

    During the first year of the pandemic, 369,000 fewer people than estimated were referred to a specialist for cancer diagnosis, leading to an estimated 19,500 people with missed cancer diagnoses (Institute for Public Policy Research). At this time, it was also predicted that the problem of missed diagnoses and cancer support would resolve itself in a few months – but no one could have predicted the dragged-out duration of the pandemic.

    The NHS waiting list is currently at a record high of around 4.6 million, with 300,000 of those being on hold for more than 12 months. This is in comparison to 1,600 before the pandemic, showing the influence of COVID-19 over cancer treatment and care.
     

    Cancer Screening Backlog 

    The emergence of a cancer screening backlog, often referred to as ‘missing patients’, will worryingly take the nation a lot to recover from. The proportion of highly curable cancers diagnosed fell from 44% (pre-pandemic) down to 41% last year, with estimations of the NHS England cancer services taking more than 10 years to be on top of the backlog (IPPR).

    For example, almost 1 million British women missed a breast cancer screening during the height of the first lockdown  (Breast Cancer Now) which means that potentially there are many missed cancers that will present at a later stage, when the treatment outcomes may not be as effective if the cancer was caught earlier.

    This backlog not only means that potential cancer patients are missing out on life-saving treatments, but those missing patients will also eventually emerge causing an even larger increase in the cancer backlog. The IPPR report Building Back Cancer Services in England estimates that 75% of the missing cancer patients will eventually need some form of NHS service, and 90% of those already diagnosed will also emerge for cancer treatments e.g., chemotherapy, radiotherapy, palliative care. This will cause even more strain on an already thinly stretched NHS.
     

    Why are employee health checks for cancer so important? 

    Employee health checks for cancer are becoming more and more important to help with cancer screening backlogs, where early diagnosis means an increased range of treatment options, improving long-term survival, and quality of life. NHS cancer care is still adjusting to staff being spread across critical support roles to deal with pressures from the pandemic, as well as the stopping of cancer screenings early in 2020 (although having started up again).

    Cancer Research UK revealed that, from March to August 2020, 45% of those with potential cancer symptoms did not contact their doctor.
    The reasons for this are:

    • worrying about wasting healthcare professionals’ time
    • worrying about burdening and putting more strain on the NHS
    • fear of contracting COVID-19
    • not wanting to be seen as making a fuss during the pandemic

    By ensuring more staff are going through employee health checks at work, it places staff in a worry-free environment whilst also diverting strain away from the already huge cancer screening backlog.
    Nikola Jack, from Check4Cancer, provided us with an insight into the different types of cancer health screenings – which is the most popular and how our clients can access their services (and even gain a discount!). Nikola outlines, “we have provided over 50,000 cancer checks, and our skin cancer screening service called SkinCheck is very popular.” Reasons for this popularity are, “it’s available for both genders and 18+ whereas all the other screenings you have to be older to have them. Plus, the SkinCheck itself is very thorough and face to face.”

    Our clients can access discounted cancer health screenings at Check4Cancer – just click through this link here.

    What are the benefits of employee health checks for employers and staff? 

    Promoting employee health checks as part of an organisation’s overall wellbeing strategy can reap many benefits both for the employer and their staff, especially with the focus on cancer screenings in response to the current climate.

    Examples of these benefits:

    • shows an Employer Duty of Care
    • Faster screening process – avoiding adding to the waiting list backlog
    • Provides emotional and clinical support for staff experiencing cancer both first and second hand
    • Promotes a healthy work environment and lifestyles e.g., weight management, physical exercise, quit-smoking programmes (reducing risk factors)
    • Raises awareness of cancer
    • Makes the workplace a supportive space for staff to ensure wellbeing

    Employers should be proactive in encouraging staff to take responsibility for their own wellbeing. This can be achieved through employee health checks for cancer for early detection, prevention, and diagnoses.

    (6 Reasons Why Businesses Offer Top Employee Health Screening to Top Staff)

    Nikola also explained just how important cancer health screenings included in employee benefits are. Using an example of a real-life case study of an employee Dan Wood who underwent a prostate cancer screening through his employee benefits platform at work, discovering he had prostate cancer even without symptoms.

    Nikola outlined how “without taking this screening the outcome could have been very different for him”, highlighting the necessity of cancer health screenings at work. Check out Dan’s story here.

    Are health checks the way forward?

    Dealing with cancer care is always a daunting prospect, whether that’s experienced first or second hand, but the pressures added from the fallout of the pandemic have only made it even harder. Especially in this current climate of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty, employers need to be promoting policies that support the cancer care ecosystem as well as the individual needs of their staff.

    By ensuring staff have access to employee health checks for cancer, organisations can target the different pillars of wellbeing, particularly the mental and physical wellbeing of employees. Look here to find out what else can be included in employee health checks and health screenings.

    Contact us at Engage for our free no-obligation advice and support, where our People-Centred Design can help you feel reassured in employee wellbeing benefits and needs, fitting with your work culture. 

  • Employee health checks on the rise in the face of COVID-19

    Employee health checks on the rise in the face of COVID-19

    Employee health checks getting people back to work

    Despite COVID-19 slowly becoming the new normal in our everyday lives, the general climate of demand and strain on the NHS is still high. During the second wave of the pandemic, there was never any fewer than 10,000 COVID patients in the hospital, with more than 3,000 new COVID patients being admitted every day.
    So how does this impact general perceptions on health? Particularly in the workplace?

    For any organisation to be successful, maintaining the wellbeing and health of employees must be a priority. One strategy that many organisations adopt to develop their wellness strategies is frequent employee health checks for staff, opening and normalising discussion on health and wellbeing. The continued presence of COVID has made this even more important.

    Pressure on NHS services has meant a huge increase in those waiting for even just a first appointment. The Department of Health produced figures from April to June 2021 that 348,867 people were on the waiting list for appointments, a rise of 38,946 compared to the previous year. This is an immense amount of people, resulting in inevitable frustration and negativity towards health services. Are these attitudes the same for employee health checks?

    As we approach our second autumn of the pandemic, how much is COVID still affecting the approach to employee health at work? Is COVID impacting the level of response for employee health checks? And what else can employers do to help?

    What are employee health checks? 

    Employee health checks are detailed check-ups aimed to provide a clear view of an employee’s health and wellbeing. They help to identify potential health risks, ensuring that members of staff are fit to be in the workforce.

    Employee health checks are designed to target individual needs, so there is no one-size-fits-all structure. They can be adapted to suit company size, location, overall wellbeing strategies, and individual needs.

    NHS health checks are offered to everyone aged 40-74 in England every 5 years, but companies can develop their own employee health scheme including either a basic health check or full:

    • Basic: blood pressure, heart rate, height & weight, body mass index, cholesterol, diabetes hydration percentage, body fat percentage, glucose
    • Full (includes the above): urine analysis, full biochemistry profile, liver & kidney function, nutrition, spinal assessment, lung function, breast examination – as a few examples.

     

    Look here to find more on what employers can offer with employee health checks.

    Is it a legal obligation or an opportunity for businesses?

    Employee health checks are not enforced by law or government standards, leaving the responsibility down to the employer to ensure they are available to their staff. Any type of employee health checks are becoming increasingly popular for companies in the face of the pandemic, with increased emphasis and anxiety around health.

    Sally Bedeau, Loch Wellbeing’s Business Manager at Loch Associates added “Whilst there is no legal obligation for employers to offer Health Checks at work some businesses find that this can benefit both the employee and the business. Employees feel looked after, valued and cared for and businesses can use high-level data gathered from health checks to identify if there are any common health issues affecting their workforce that they can help to address through targeted wellbeing initiatives.”

    In one of their case studies Loch’s HR Medical Specialists identified that in a cross-site organisation, one location had higher average blood pressure readings than the others.  It was identified that the common cause of this was that there were more smokers based at that location. The business, along with advice from their HR Medical Specialists, then supported the employees to either quit or reduce smoking, resulting in an overall improvement in health.  It also resulted in reducing sickness absences in the future.

    Sally added “With our wellness checks at Loch Wellbeing, individual health information is kept confidential but the business report we prepare is an invaluable insight into the health of the workforce. In this report, our HR Medical Specialists will identify any concerns, highlight areas for improvement and how that can be achieved.  By following the HR Medical Specialists’ recommendations businesses can reduce absences, increase productivity and have a healthier and more engaged team.”

    How have employee health checks changed since COVID?

    To keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic, every aspect of work and life must also adapt. This also goes for employee health checks. By adapting the regular procedures of monitoring employee wellbeing and health in line with COVID, businesses can access the knowledge of how best to prevent the spread of illness and ensure the best possible environment for their employees.

    Popular health checks since COVID:

    • Temperature screening checks: quickly manage employees with potential symptoms
    • Health Checkpoints: designed to not disrupt the general workflow, can include surveys, booking socially distanced desks, technological-based help
    • Hand sanitiser and cleaning stations 
    • Access to lateral flow testing
    • Emphasis on respiratory checks

    One issue that employers are now facing is the emergence of ‘Long COVID’ (continuation of symptoms more than 12 weeks from getting ill). The lack of support and knowledge surrounding this means employees are left feeling isolated and confused whilst struggling with symptoms. Employee health checks can be a way for employers to tackle this, opening a dialogue for staff and access to support.

    However, not everyone has access to health checks due to increasingly long waiting lists. Employers must also find other ways to show their support, such as flexible working hours giving staff the room to adapt to a different way of working.

    Impact of COVID on waiting lists – statistics and attitudes 

    As outlined above, the influence of COVID has seeped into almost every aspect of life. A leading current topic is how seriously the pandemic has affected NHS waiting lists and the backlog for treatment. This backlog acts as an obstacle for many people, giving rise to a new approach to health where the public are waiting things out until after COVID. In short, people aren’t attending health checks producing a general atmosphere of poor wellbeing and health.

    This delay is a result of the public trying to help the NHS as they struggle with pressures from COVID! But instead, people are left with not getting the help they need when they need it.

    Employers can support their employees by informing and pushing them to respond to signs and symptoms, ensuring staff take full advantage of other health services that are on offer. Through a well-developed wellness strategy and employee benefits scheme, including employee health checks, employers can create a workspace that feels safe and productive during unprecedented times and prioritise the wellbeing of their employees.

    Aviva’s report “The Changing Landscape – Embracing a New Approach” outlines how 48% of people polled said they would be more likely to take up a health check than before the pandemic. Unfortunately, 60% of respondents hadn’t had a health check in the last 12 months. This highlights how the pandemic has made health more of a priority for employees, but there is little support for the increased demand and receiving a health check is near impossible.

    Again, this is where employers must step up for the wellbeing of their staff where other services are straining in the face of the pandemic.

    (Top 5 Benefits of Corporate Wellness)

    Wellbeing and Engage Health Group 

    Employees attending their health checks at work is incredibly important. It provides an opportunity for at least an initial appointment and the option for referrals during a time when everything seems difficult to achieve. Having employee health checks on offer promotes integrity and trust in an organisation, showing employees that you value their wellbeing and care for their health.

    Employee health checks are just one way organisations can provide further support to employees during the pandemic. Look here to see what else can go into a wellbeing strategy.

    Contact us at Engage Health Group for our free no-obligation advice and discover what else can be on offer to employees to support their wellbeing and health during COVID-19.