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NHS England chief says staff need support to lead healthier lifestyles By Katie Osborne katieosborne@NS_reporter Employers must take more responsibility for the health and wellbeing of nurses and other health professionals, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said last week. Mr Stevens is concerned at rising obesity rates in the UK and thinks the NHS, as a responsible employer, should be setting an example by looking at ways of supporting its staff to lead healthier lifestyles. He is exploring ideas such as building more gyms and creating cycle-friendly environments at NHS sites as well as offering incentives to staff to eat more healthily.

comprehensive wellbeing plans over the past three years and this is a great achievement,’ she added. ‘Employers recognise obesity as an issue and are working to provide healthier food in staff restaurants and dispensing machines,’ she said. ‘Getting this right includes making sure food is available at times to fit rotas around the clock.’ Public Health England director of nursing Viv Bennett said: ‘The health of our nursing staff is vital and nurses have told us what they need to improve

their health. Many organisations are already taking steps to provide this, both with individual advice and support, and by making it easier to make healthy choices.’ RCN chief executive Peter Carter said: ‘Doctors and nurses are humans too, and we know that many struggle to maintain a good diet when doing shiftwork or coping with stress. We support nurses and patients who want to live a healthier lifestyle and hope that the NHS as an employer can also help those staff.’

‘Raise our game’

‘We have got to support people doing great things, nurses, doctors, the front line of health care. We have got to raise our game,’ he said. ‘A lot of food in hospital canteens is chips and burgers. The NHS is an employer – for our nurses and other staff, could we offer positive incentives? Yes I think we could.’ Figures published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in February show that almost three quarters of people aged 45-74 in England are overweight or obese. Mr Stevens’s comments come more than five years after a report by Steve Boorman on the health and wellbeing of NHS staff. This report recommended all NHS organisations should improve the healthiness of food served in their restaurants, and staff should be encouraged to become more physically active. NHS Employers assistant director Ruth Warden said much progress has already been made in this area but there is still work to do. ‘Employers have included 300,000 more staff in

Safina Shahin showing a mouth swab (left) with Dean Linzey

Website will help to reduce hepatitis C A website developed by a nurse consultant has been launched to challenge misconceptions about the risks of hepatitis C among the UK’s 1.8 million south Asians and Somalis. Hepatitis C: Find the Facts tackles stigma around the potentially fatal disease in at-risk communities with information in Hindu, Nepali, Somali and Urdu. The resource was co-developed by Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust nurse

consultant Dean Linzey and Safina Shahin, the administrator of a scheme in Reading to increase testing for hepatitis C. Mr Linzey and Ms Shahin run the blood-borne virus Asian champion scheme, which has trained people to carry out oral swab tests for hepatitis C. Mr Linzey said the website is ‘a good tool for nurses and to direct patients to’. Visit www.hepatitisfindthefacts. wordpress.com

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NHS England chief says staff need support to lead healthier lifestyles.

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