Physiotherapists are established as one of the key types of
professionals working alongside occupational health (OH) doctors and
nurses to cut down on sickness absence rates. The collaboration between
the two professional groups has led to discussions on how
physiotherapists could be assessed under the Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Service (SEQOHS) accreditation scheme.
Employers that contract physiotherapists to provide OH services are
seeing good returns because people are able to stay in work through a
combination of preventive measures and fast, effective treatment.
These physiotherapists work with employers to provide safe,
effective work environments and offer advice and treatment to employees
who begin to develop a problem that could result in sick leave. In many
cases, this early intervention prevents any absence from being
necessary.
If someone does go on sick leave, they are seen as soon as possible
before their condition worsens, to ensure that symptoms are treated and
any underlying behavioural or environmental factors, such as poor
posture or a poorly designed work station, are dealt with to facilitate
a swift return to work.
Physiotherapy and the Health and Work Service
This is good for the individual, saves money for the employer and boosts the economy overall by keeping a taxpayer in work.
This “triple win” was cited in early February 2014, when the
Government made the latest announcement on its new Health and Work
Service (HWS). The service will offer an assessment to anyone who has
been off sick for more than four weeks to help identify ways to get
them back to work.
Clearly, physiotherapists will play a big part in this service,
fulfilling two roles. First, they will use their expertise in movement
and function to assess a person’s condition, identify the causes of the
problem and then suggest the steps that could help them return to work.
These steps might include changes to working practices and patterns,
alterations to the work environment or seeing a health professional for
treatment.
This is where the second role comes in: providing treatment at the
earliest opportunity to prevent problems from becoming long-term,
chronic conditions.
Physiotherapists use body posture as a tool that can be adapted to
meet job demands with minimum stress on the musculoskeletal system.
They give expert advice to maintain fitness and flexibility, and to
develop a reserve of strength to meet demands of an individual’s job. They also identify how habitual patterns of movement and working
predispose musculoskeletal problems, and work with individuals and
groups to improve musculoskeletal health, prevent injuries and improve
efficiency.
Up to 30% of sickness absence is because of a musculoskeletal
condition and, in many cases, early access to a physiotherapist could
have dealt with the immediate problem and corrected any other factors
to avoid a recurrence.
Evidence of improvement
Pilot schemes of the HWS have already shown promising results; for
some people, physiotherapists have been able to support an earlier
return to work than might otherwise have been possible.
In April 2013, the BBC reported on a scheme running in
Leicestershire that helped a warehouse worker who had developed a
shoulder injury. His GP referred him to the scheme, which in turn
arranged for him to receive physiotherapy immediately, rather than wait
on an NHS list for several weeks.
By providing this fast access to physiotherapy and then arranging a
phased return to work, the employee was able to get back to his job
much quicker than his GP had initially anticipated. As noted at the time by Dame Carol Black, whose report on sickness
absence led to the creation of the pilot schemes, too many people fall
out of work when their condition could have been managed: “It wastes
human life. It ruins people’s sense of self-worth, dignity. It’s bad
for families, bad for the economy, and bad for the community.”
Benefitting both the public and private sectors
Much of the coverage around that service has focused on help for the
private sector, but OH physiotherapy is also helping public bodies make
critical savings during this time of austerity.
In 2012, Staffordshire County Council contracted a private OH
physiotherapy company to reduce its sickness absences. The rapid-access
physiotherapy service begins with a telephone triage to allow contact
with the employee within 24 hours of first being off work. During the call the nature of the problem is established, with
self-management advice and exercises discussed. If necessary, a
face-to-face physiotherapy appointment can be arranged at a convenient
time and location for the employee.
Since the start of this rapid-access physiotherapy programme, the
council has reported an 8% drop in staff absence, amounting to 9,000
fewer sick days per year, a 12% reduction in musculoskeletal absences
and a 300% return on investment.
A dedicated physiotherapy service is now in place for staff with
conditions such as pain and stiffness in joints, muscles, nerves and
soft tissues. It offers rapid treatment to help staff to return to work
quickly.
Rolling out good practice
In the NHS, although more work still needs to be done, there are
signs that it is getting a grip on high levels of sickness absence.
Perhaps ironically, the health service historically has not done a
great job of looking after the wellbeing of its own employees.
The Boorman Review, published in 2009, said that the NHS
could save £555 million per year by providing fast access to services
such as physiotherapy to help keep staff fit for work. The review also
highlighted that improved staff health ensured better treatment for
patients, because sickness absences had led to cancelled appointments
and longer waiting times. Yet even last year, an audit conducted by the Chartered Society of
Physiotherapy found that about 40% of health trusts in England still
did not have a health and wellbeing strategy in place for its staff –
despite this being a key recommendation from Boorman.
At a time when the NHS is tasked with saving £20 billion by 2015, it
is remarkable that this simple way to reduce costs is being overlooked.
Services that work
There are, of course, pockets of excellence. Fast Physio is a
dedicated, inhouse service that provides rapid access for employees at
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. Urgent referrals are seen for an
assessment, management and advice within three working days, and
routine assessments within 10 days. Employees also get telephone and email advice to enable them to
self-manage their injury more effectively, and there are
recommendations for workplace adjustments where appropriate. Advice and
support is provided for both managers and employees during an
individual’s return to work. After the service had been running for 18 months, there had been a
32% reduction in days lost to musculoskeletal-related sickness.
Proven investment
Physiotherapists have been demonstrating their effectiveness and
return on investment across all sectors for a number of years in OH.
When PricewaterhouseCoopers analysed the impact of health and
wellbeing initiatives at 55 organisations, ranging in size from 70 to
100,000-plus employees, it found consistent evidence of reduced absence
and increased productivity.
In one case, an employer experienced a return of £34 for every £1
spent on providing in-house and discounted physiotherapy for staff.
Now the effectiveness of those services looks set to get official
recognition. SEQOHS is the system for accrediting an OH service that
complies with a rigorous set of standards. The professional network,
the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Occupational Health and Ergonomics (ACPOHE), is working with SEQOHS to introduce a quality assurance system for OH physiotherapy. ACPOHE has recruited six organisations that represent the breadth of
OH physiotherapy services, and a one-year pilot project began in
November 2013. During the pilot period the sites will provide
documentary evidence to demonstrate how their organisation meets the
SEQOHS standards. The feedback from the pilot will feed into the
Faculty of Occupational Medicine’s review of the SEQOHS standards. At the end of the pilot, all participating organisations will
receive a written report with regards to their level of achievement
against the standards and an action plan identifying where further
evidence improvement is required.
Organisations that can successfully demonstrate compliance will also
receive a letter from SEQOHS stating that the organisation meets the
standards. These organisations will then be ready to apply for full
accreditation in 2015 when the updated standards are issued.
This would make the UK the first place in the world where OH
physiotherapists can receive a quality assurance standard for their
practice.
OH physiotherapists now work in a diverse range of settings across
all sectors. Whatever type of workplace they are in, however, the
evidence shows the employer will see an average return of £3 for every
£1 invested in the service. As the economy continues to struggle back
to life, the importance of that statistic speaks for itself.
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http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/physiotherapists-helping-reduce-sickness-absence-rates/