Monday, 13th September 2021
The health programme - Business Health Matters – launched today – September 13th.
Pendle Leisure Trust is just one of a number of local and national delivery partners the Active Lancashire led programme has brought together – including the expertise of specialists at the University of Central Lancashire, ukactive and Lancashire Mind - to deliver a tailored and affordable workplace health offer to Lancashire-based SMEs.
As a result of this three year programme, employees across the county will be empowered to take ownership and improve their own health and well-being, whilst businesses will benefit from a healthier, happier and more resilient workforce.
In response to the increased levels of poor health within Lancashire’s workforce, the programme offers two main services to businesses in the form of the ESF-funded Workplace Health Champion Training and the government-backed Workplace Health Screenings service.
The free training includes basic skills (Mathematics, English and ESOL) and a Level 2 and Level 3 NCFE-accredited qualification for those individuals who wish to drive change in their organisations and create a network of health ambassadors across the county.
The screenings, focused on employees aged 50+, combine a physical health assessment and mental health element to produce a unique tool for employees to learn more about their own health and take positive steps to improve it.
The programme has undertaken a robust training and pilot phase over the last 12 months, where staff from leisure trusts and local authorities have undergone extensive training to deliver both the Workplace Health Champion Training and the Workplace Health Screening service.
Today’s launch signals the start of the delivery of this exciting programme, which will aim to train 5,000 Workplace Health Champions and conduct over 15,000 health screenings in the workplace, over the next three years.
Adrian Leather, Chief Executive at Active Lancashire, explained: “The research shows that by improving the mental and physical health of employees in Lancashire, we can reduce the rate of sickness absence in the county and increase those retained in employment.
“Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated delivery partners and our team, I am very confident Business Health Matters will drive tangible change within businesses and improve productivity, staff satisfaction and retention for years to come.”
Alison Goode, Chief Executive of Pendle Leisure Trust, added: “Throughout this pandemic, it has become apparent just how important physical activity is, not only for people’s health and well-being, but for their mental state as well; so we are delighted to be involved in helping to roll out this programme for businesses in Pendle.”
Combining £5million investment from the European Social Fund and £3million from the UKRI’s healthy ageing challenge, the launch of the programme is a landmark moment for Lancashire with a huge potential to benefit Lancashire’s economy and ease the strain on the county’s health services, with support from a range of partners including Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Chambers of Commerce, Sport England and Lancashire County Council.