Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust case study

High-level summary

Following a request by NHS England and Public Health England, Health Diagnostics have supplied various NHS trusts with digital toolkit to provide NHS staff with interactive and motivational health checks. One such trust is Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STH) who implanted staff health checks as part of a wider wellbeing strategy.

Solution components supplied

  • A module for delivering interactive health checks
  • An online portal for reporting individual results and providing tailored risk communication
  • Analytics and outcomes reporting
  • CPD certified training
  • Dedicated back-office support and consultative advice
  • Point-of-care testing equipment and consumables
  • A fully accredited quality assurance scheme for cholesterol testing

Project outcomes

Reductions in sickness absence

During 2016/17, STH were reported to have lost 233,249 total days to staff sickness absence. Ultimately, the Trust’s new approach has proved a resounding success; key headline outcomes following the programme’s implementation include:

  • A 10% decrease in sickness absence compared with the 2016/17 figure
  • The fewest number of average working days lost compared with the previous 5 years
  • The largest number of staff with no sickness absence compared with the previous 5 years    

Reach and reception

  • Over 1000 consultations delivered
  • 9/10 staff reported that they were ‘very satisfied’ with the support they received
  • Targeted interventions introduced based on the health trends revealed, e.g.:
    • Canteens reconfigured and healthy weight app introduced when a significant proportion of staff were found to be either overweight or obese
    • Staff counselling has seen a surge in interest following a brief assessment designed to spot the signs of stress, anxiety and depression  

Recognition and reward

  • STH’s work has been recognised nationally, with the CQC inspection’s for STH confirming that for “staff sickness absence the trust has a lower rate than the national median and saw improvements during 2017/18 linked to new policies introduced in April 2017”
  • For STH, CQUIN targets were attached to the performance of the staff wellbeing programme. In consequence, over £1m was riding on its success. Not only did STH reach their CQUIN targets, senior leaders at the Trust estimate that the wider health and wellbeing programme could save STH around £3million.