Firms and workers in Cumbria are being asked to invest in their healthcare to help ease pressure on the NHS.
An innovative pilot scheme has been rolled out by Barrow start-up Circular 1 Health, which aims to level up the county’s healthcare.
It is working with BAE Systems to offer screening tests to identify health issues in employees early to prevent more serious illnesses developing and avoid further strain on the NHS.
The tests will form part of a healthcare model designed for firms by Circular 1 to address physical, mental and social health. Tests carried out will include bloods, physical health checks and body mass index tests.
Families of employees will also be able to ‘buy in’ to the scheme and access the healthcare at a cost.
Fewer sick days for staff
CEO of Circular One Health, Stuart MacLennan, said the programme was all about doing business ethically and sustainably with a community-based approach.
He added: “I think that by having a programme that ensures employees and their families are investing in their health, it means less days off sick, reduced absence and employees who feel more valued and more part of a business and community.
“As an economy we’ve got Brexit to deal with, so we need more people to work because we have less migrant work available. Post-COVID we also have gaps in workplace and high backlogs in the NHS, so if people can use the full spectrum of this programme to their advantage including the mental health signposting and social care signposting, then we will see a knock-on effect with more people healthy and in work.
“The NHS and GPs have truly welcomed the programme working alongside them. With our care management model, it means you’re not sitting and waiting for an appointment as someone is chasing up that appointment on your behalf, which helps speed things up through the NHS when you’re only going to them with a referral.”
Employers will have no access to an employee’s digital care record, which remains strictly confidential, the company said.
Instead, an anonymous set of trend data across the whole population of those using the scheme will accessible to firms, but employees must give consent for their information being shared.
‘Catalyst to push people to take responsibility’
Stuart said that he did not see the programme as privatisation, rather as a necessary catalyst to push people to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing to give the NHS, social care service and wider community more support.
The start-up initially began working with BAE and other employers including Rolls-Royce, Serco, Sellafield and EDF Energy on private COVID testing for employees during the pandemic to keep the sites operating.
Following discussions with BAE about health inequalities in the county, Circular 1 helped form a community partnership board including Barrow council, Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, the University of Cumbria, charities and GPs, in a parallel programme to the BAE pilot for the community to level up the region’s health.
Former Labour health minister Hazel Blears, 66, who lives in Kendal, is spearheading the new programme, which is supported by the private sector.
She is advising Circular 1 Health to encourage companies to invest in the health of their workplace in her role as chairwoman of a new healthier communities programme board in the county.
She said: “Ultimately, we are confident that a community-led, collaborative approach can level up healthcare in Cumbria. This means increased life expectancy through improved mental and physical wellbeing for Cumbrians, creating more resilient communities that have proactive health at their heart.
“There is real commitment from partners including GPs, Circular 1 and BAE Systems to work together to address the real health issues facing people living in certain parts of Cumbria.”
Changes must be made to healthcare system
Stuart added that in the midst of the cost of living crisis and post-pandemic, that in terms of health outcomes, the UK as a whole needs to think about changes that can be made to the current system of healthcare so a healthier, fitter nation is able to better address the current economic climate.
He said: “If we look at the NHS, it sees a 3.5 per cent spend increase per year and if we look at the country and economy, we’re not going to grow it by that 3.5 per cent for a while, therefore, I think what we are seeing is the reality of the NHS.
“It is an enormous cost to the country, to government and taxation and it’s an amazing service and it’s got to be a key anchor to our values as a country and it’s got to support the whole community. But it needs support.”
