University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust ‘s dedication to promoting the health and wellbeing of its workforce has been a recognised with a Gold Award from the Better Health at Work Awards.
The Trust’s #FlourishAtWork campaign was launched in February 2016 with ‘Move More’. It has since focused on mini campaigns around healthy heart, reducing alcohol consumption; stopping smoking; healthy eating and weight management; increasing physical activity, and promoting good mental health and wellbeing.
The award judges commended University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) saying: “Once again, UHMBT have demonstrated their commitment to both the award and health and wellbeing in general by embracing the ‘asks’ and consistently working to a very high standard.”
An important way the campaign has improved people’s health is through mini health MOT’s where people are given health tests and offered advice on improving their health.
The mini MOT’s revealed a number of people with high blood pressure. If the condition is left untreated, people with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke and twice as likely to die from these conditions as people with a normal blood pressure. High blood pressure rarely has any symptoms, so the only way for people to know if they have it is by being tested. After being tested, a number of people are now on medication to treat the condition.
After a mini MOT four people were also identified as having irregular heartbeat and were referred to their GP’s for further assessment and treatment.
David Walker, Medical Director at UHMBT, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the Trust’s commitment to our colleagues’ health and wellbeing has been recognised by this award.
“Workforce health and wellbeing is a top priority for UHMBT, and the Flourish campaign is providing tangible benefits for our colleagues. It is important for everyone that the Trust is a great place to work and a great placed to be cared for – and we know that healthy and happy colleagues will enjoy work more and also provide a better standard of care for our patients.”
Other Flourish activities included a slimming challenge, where 100 people aimed to lose 70 stone in 12 weeks. The Headspace meditation app was made available free to hundreds of people, and events were held focusing on mental health and relaxation.
The campaign was also taken into the wider community with exhibitions at events such as the Westmorland Show, and work with local schools on diet and exercise.
The Gold Award will be formally presented in February, after which the Trust will then move to the Continuing Excellence level. This recognises the importance of organisations sustaining the progress they have made during their participation in the award and encourages them to use their experience to support others.
