The NHS Health and Wellbeing service has been developed by NHS Discounts. It is hoped it will save NHS trusts time and money by providing a central hub of resources and benefits covering every aspect of employee health.
The service has been developed in response to the findings of the Boorman Review, which estimated the NHS could save £555 million by improving employee health and reducing absenteeism.
Barts and The London NHS Trust has already signed up to receive the service over the next three years, commencing April 2010.
Ali Mohammed, director of HR and organisational development at Barts and The London NHS Trust, said: "Barts and The London are delighted to be signing up to this initiative with NHS Discounts which will help us enhance our offering to staff in conjunction with the health and wellbeing agenda that is a key component of the NHS Operating Framework. It will also form a key part in supporting our staff engagement and retention strategies."
The service will allow trusts to measure progress through quarterly ‘pulse' surveys, which allow ongoing tracking and benchmarking against national results. Ready-made communications materials have been designed to save trusts time; the central resource hub includes online and promotional materials covering everything from smoking cessation to healthy eating.
And, through the launch of total rewards statements, employees will be told the complete value of their remuneration and benefits.