Health MOTs top health and wellbeing benefits wish list for UK employees, with the majority rating it as valuable.
According to a new survey by Find Out Now for Bluecrest Wellness, health MOTs along with private diagnosis and treatment support were in the highest demand with 7 out of 10 rating it as valuable, followed by cashback on opticians or dentists, rated valuable or very valuable by 68 per cent. This was followed by physio sessions at 60 per cent, mental health support at 55 per cent and GP access at 54 per cent.
Around 61 per cent of respondents were interested in health assessments to find some peace of mind while 60 per cent wanted it to identify health risks early.
Nearly 70 per cent wanted to know were their cancer risk, another 70 per cent wanted to know about heart health, followed by stroke risk at 52 per cent, and then blood health, kidney and liver function, blood pressure – and cholesterol.
Bluecrest Wellness chief executive officer Dominique Kent says: “This is crucial information for businesses, who are seeing an overall increase in demand for health benefits as a hygiene factor, but are struggling to make difficult budget choices.
“The focus for health benefits to date has very much been on treatment. There’s been a gap both in terms of access, and in terms of prevention. We believe closing the first gap can be achieved by closing the second.
“Health MOTs are clearly a fraction of the cost of something like PMI, making them a potentially workforce-wide benefit that’s both highly valued and highly valuable – supporting engagement, safeguarding staff wellbeing, and providing crucial data to drive wider strategies.”
Bluecrest Wellness chief medical officer Dr Martin Thornton says: “Our survey found three quarters of employees would be interested in getting health insight so they can live and work feeling confident in their health. They love the NHS, and they still trust it to help them when they get through the doors – but they’re worried about not getting there fast enough.
“Preventative health awareness and demand is clearly on the rise. People want to take charge of their health and get ahead of it – and they’re looking to workplaces to support them. The really good news for both individuals and the businesses they work for is that when people do get health insight and understand what’s going on inside their bodies, they take action. They do things like lose weight, they move more, they stop smoking and drink less alcohol.
“That makes them less likely to likely to develop chronic illnesses, less likely to be off sick, and less likely to need private or NHS services. It’s a rare win/win/win situation across the board.”
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