Prevention is said to be better than the cure, but it’s a health and wellbeing priority for just 9% 1 of businesses. With the NHS struggling 2 to care for those already sick - let alone those who are still fit and well – it’s an opportunity for businesses to step in and take up the slack.
It’s clearly in every organisation’s best interest to keep people well and working. Prevention strategies can help reduce sickness absences, reduce claims on other health benefits - and improve overall engagement and morale.
There are three key areas for action - healthy living, health checks, and early intervention.
1. Healthy living
Living a healthy lifestyle can make a huge difference to someone’s long term health, their risk of disease, and how healthy they stay as they age. Things like stopping smoking, taking more exercise, drinking less alcohol and eating well can significantly reduce the risk of developing health problems including things like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and many other serious and chronic conditions. Some studies have shown that maintaining healthy habits can extend someone’s lifespan by more than a decade 3.
2. Health checks
Not all illnesses have obvious symptoms. Health checks can help give individuals a picture of what’s happening inside their bodies, and an opportunity to address issues before they develop into more serious problems.
Health checks can include questionnaires to assess overall health and mental health, simple blood tests to check things like cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid, liver and kidney function, heart tests like ECGs, breathing tests to check lung function, and other samples like FIT (Faecal Immunochemical Test) tests to check for signs of bowel disease or cancer.
3. Early intervention
Getting quick medical attention for health issues can prevent them from becoming more serious. That includes things like easy access to GPs and physiotherapy support for generic symptoms, and fast-track diagnosis for potentially more serious issues that need specialist consultation. Catching serious illnesses early can make a huge difference in how they can be treated, managed, and survived.
Preventative health in numbers
£97 4 billion vs £8 billion – the amount of public money spent on treating disease vs the amount spent on preventing it
40% 5 of NHS costs are spent on treating preventable illnesses, including some cancers, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes
50%+ 6 of the attributed burden of poor health and early death can be linked to behavioural, social and environmental factors that we can change before they lead to diseases that require medical treatment or social care
500,000 7 – the number of lives that could be saved in the next 10 years through the government’s own Long-Term Plan to improve NHS prevention services
26 million8 people in the UK live with at least one long term condition, and 10 million with two or more
59% 9 of those aged 65 or older in the UK have two or more serious conditions or impairments, projected to reach 70% by 2035
20% 10 of our lives are estimated to be spent in poor health
122,000 11 deaths per year are linked to smoking, making it the leading cause of preventable deaths
9 years 12 – the amount someone’s life is shortened by being obese
200 13 – the number of health conditions which can be attributed partly or completely to alcohol misuse
2.1 million 14 – the number of people who didn’t take up their NHS Health Check in 2023
10,000 lives a year 12 – are saved through cervical, breast and bowel cancer screening
55% 16 of cancers are currently detected early in England
90% vs 10% 17 - the number of people to survive bowel disease caught at stage 1 vs stage 4.
How can businesses promote preventative health?
1. Take part in health awareness days
Recognising and taking part in health awareness days can be a great way to raise awareness of common diseases, help people understand and recognise symptoms - and encourage them to get checked out. Most campaigns will have workplace resource packs to help you advertise and even fundraise.
2. Healthy living initiatives
Organisations can help promote healthy living in the workplace by encouraging healthy eating and exercise. That could mean providing healthy snacks, encouraging stand-up meetings and lunch-hour exercise, or bigger initiatives like workplace exercise challenges linked to charity campaigns and donations.
3. Remind people about their Equipsme plan
Here are three ways Equipsme can support preventative health:
1. Thriva health tests
As part of all Equipsme plans, members get an online health check and blood test every year to check some key health indicators. Tests vary depending on what level of plan they’re on, but they also get 20% off ANY additional Thriva test that they choose to buy themselves.
Find out more about home health checks
2. Health support services
Our 24/7 GP service is there for people who are struggling to get to see their NHS GP, or those who need a second opinion. Most people get a video or phone appointment within 24 hours, at a time that suits them.
Find out more about using the GP Service
Every Equipsme plan includes a number of physiotherapy sessions through AXA Health.
It means employees with eligible claims can get practical support for twinges, strains or more serious muscle, ligament and tendon issues, often quicker than waiting for the NHS, or for their issue to worsen. You also don’t always need a GP referral to access the muscles, joints and bones support.
Find out more about how to get physiotherapy support through Equipsme
Our health support line can be a useful port of call for employees with a health-related question. Nurses, pharmacists and midwives are on the other end of the AXA Health at Hand helpline to offer advice and guidance on minor illnesses or injuries, medicines, and when something might need escalating to a doctor.
Find out more about how to use the nurse advice line
3. Diagnosis services
Plan levels 3, 2 and 1 include diagnosis services through AXA Health. It means people can use their own GP or the Equipsme GP to get an open referral to a private specialist for tests including blood work and scans. If the claim is eligible, it can put them on the fast-track to a diagnosis, so they can get answers quickly, and start any treatment faster.
Find out more about diagnosis through Equipsme
Get in touch
Whether you've got questions about our plans or about Equipsme, we’re here to help. Read more about our plans here or you can either email us at [email protected] or call our friendly team on 020 3965 6410.
Sources:
1 employernews.co.uk/employee-benefits/just-nine-per-cent-of-employers-prioritise-preventative-care/
2 www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-backlog-data-analysis
3 time.com/5761592/how-to-live-longer-and-healthier/
4 www.gov.uk/government/news/health-secretary-launches-prevention-is-better-than-cure-vision
5 www.gov.uk/government/speeches/health-and-social-care-secretary-speech-on-health
6 assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media
7 ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2019/01/08/the-nhs-long-term-plan-focusing-on-prevention-to-save-thousands-of-lives/
8 www.england.nhs.uk/blog/making-the-case-for-the-personalised-approach/
9 ourfuturehealth.org.uk/news/the-uks-largest-ever-health-research-programme-to-transform
10 assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5be00437e5274a6e174bdac1
11 cks.nice.org.uk/topics/smoking-cessation/background-information/harms-caused-by-smoking/
12 www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-obesity-and-the-food-environment/
13 www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-applying-all-our-health
14 www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/clinical-areas/cardiovascular
15 www.england.nhs.uk/2019/10/modern-screening-can-be-more-personalised-and-convenient-to-save-lives-says-new-report
16 www.cancerresearchuk.org/funding-for-researchers/research-opportunities-in-early-detection-and-diagnosis
17 www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bowel-cancer/survival
All our information is desk-based research from credible sources only, including the NHS and medical/disease charities.
Date created: January 2025
