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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced programme with Nuffield Health for NHS workers suffering from muscle and joint pain – see where it will be offered first
NHS workers can get free rehab support for muscle and joint pain as well as a free Nuffield Health gym membership in a new programme to help boost the NHS and care sectors.
The programme is being launched to tackle sickness absences in the health service and help carers get back to work. Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions – which include chronic joint conditions like arthritis or back pain – are the second leading cause of absence among NHS staff after mental health.
Four thousand frontline NHS staff will initially benefit from the free rehabilitation sessions before they are rolled out across England later this year. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “People go to work in the NHS to look after us and patch us up but it’s too easy to lose sight of the health of the people who are looking after our health.
“And unfortunately NHS staff have been bearing the brunt of the NHS crisis. They go to work, they slog their guts out and they experience a lot of burnout.”
Mr Streeting revealed the Nuffield deal when speaking to the Mirror on Thursday at an event attended by 100 NHS staff in Peterborough to gather their views on how to fix the health service. There he issued a call to arms for workers to join the NHS frontline after the number of students applying to become nurses hit a record low.
Mr Streeting said the NHS “will always be a priority” as the UK increases defence spending amid an arms race in Europe in the face of Russian aggression. More than two million days are lost due to NHS staff sickness each month. Last August back and musculoskeletal problems led to over 314,000 lost days and over 10,000 members of staff off sick.
Ten NHS trusts in London, Birmingham and the North West will initially identify staff who could benefit from the rehab sessions being put on by Nuffield Health. It provides 12 weeks of exercise and support led by a personal trainer who specialises in MSK rehab, followed by 12 weeks of free access to Nuffield Health gyms.
Mr Streeting said: “NHS staff cannot treat patients if they’re in debilitating pain themselves. This partnership with Nuffield Health will help get thousands of NHS staff back to work, improve their quality of life, and allow them to continue to cut waiting lists. We’ll care for them so they can care for us and deliver our Plan for Change’s goal to build an NHS fit for the future.”
Nuffield Health’s Joint Pain Programme will help workers with chronic and long-term joint conditions like arthritis, helping them regain their quality of life while also helping bring down NHS waiting lists. The programme has been used on 35,000 members of the public with Nuffield claiming participants experienced 35% improvement in joint pain and 37% improvement in joint function in 2024. It estimates the programme prevented 86,226 sick days and resulted in a 29% reduction in GP appointments last year.
Alex Perry, chief executive of Nuffield Health, said: “Nuffield Health’s mission is to build a healthier nation and our free-to-access Joint Pain Programme is a key part of that. This unique programme has helped over 35,000 people to date improve their health and quality of life.
“By offering this free programme directly to NHS staff, including nurses, porters, and paramedics, we are providing them with support to recover, return to work and continue delivering essential care. This not only improves their health but also reduces pressure on the NHS by lowering sickness absence and keeping skilled staff where they are needed most.”
Nuffield Health provides healthcare and fitness support through its network of 37 hospitals and 110 fitness and wellbeing centres. It offers hospital care, fitness support, along with free health and wellbeing programmes in local communities. They aim to help people understand and improve their health, including those living with joint pain and the effects of cancer and its treatment.
The Joint Pain Programme will initially be available to NHS staff in the following Nuffield Health locations:
- Twickenham
- Brondesbury Park
- Stoke Poges
- Friern Barnet Hendon
- Birmingham Central
- Preston
- Bolton
- Wandsworth
- Wandsworth Southside
- City
- Covent Garden
- Shoreditch
- Paddington
- Battersea
- Chiselhurst
- Fulham
- Wimbledon