A Culture for a Healthy Workforce – Rotherham CCG Finance Team

In 2015, NHS Rotherham CCG kick started a drive to help staff improve their health and wellbeing that has enabled the finance team to take simple steps to look after our physical and mental health.

At Rotherham CCG we have an open and supportive culture that allows us to take up opportunities in three key areas; MSK, mental health and healthy lifestyles. Staff within our finance team have been at the heart of developing what is on offer to staff and have helped to put in place key initiatives that have now become everyday business for the organisation.

Activities such as yoga, Pilates, workplace massages, lunchtime exercise classes and discount gym memberships has given our finance team the chance to sample different activities that they previously would never have thought to try, at a convenient time for them, whether that be around work or as part of their home life.  The availability of healthy eating tips and slimming world vouchers has meant that some staff have been able to take control of their health and wellbeing as part of their personal life outside of the work environment, which we have found fits well with family life.

Access to fast track physiotherapy services has been well received within in our team, enabling members of the team to recover quicker and more effectively from problems such as back or knee pain. This has a wider benefit for the organisation because it helps our staff to stay in work and be more productive, helping to reduce sickness absence.

A successful part of our healthy workforce offer, and one that finance staff particularly enjoy, is the walking club. Staff regularly take part in lunchtime walks, which not only allows them to get exercise during the day but also helps maintain positive mental health. Getting some fresh air and have a good chat with friends is a welcome break from being sat behind a desk staring at a computer all day. Some staff across the CCG have  even extended the walking club to weekend walks, getting together to take in the sites of South Yorkshire and beyond.

The CCG’s commitment to helping staff improve their health and wellbeing has opened opportunities for us all to look after ourselves better and the fact that it is now embedded within the culture of the organisation provides a fantastic benefit to us all in improving our work-life balance.