VitalityHealth teams up with Nuffield
UK health insurer VitalityHealth and hospital group Nuffield Health have announced the launch of a joint venture to provide large employers with a health and engagement solution for their entire workforce. The offering will take a holistic approach to employee health, providing a range of tools to help employers understand their employees’ physical and mental wellbeing needs and motivations, with the aim of improving productivity and boosting the business bottom line.
The new joint venture combines VitalityHealth’s expertise in the use of incentives and rewards to drive healthier behaviours with Nuffield Health’s extensive range of health expertise and knowledge.
The solution is underpinned by research from Britain’s Healthiest Workplace, one of the largest employee health and wellbeing surveys in the UK. The study, which was developed by VitalityHealth and delivered in partnership with the University of Cambridge, RAND Europe and Mercer, has demonstrated a clear link between employees’ lifestyle and clinical health, their mental wellbeing, and their levels of lost productivity – through both absenteeism and presenteeism – while at work. It has shown that the average UK employee loses the equivalent of 27.5 days of productive time each year, with a gulf in productivity between the healthiest and least healthy employees of over 30 days per year. The findings demonstrate that employee health is an issue that employers cannot afford to ignore.
Steve Gray, CEO at Nuffield Health, said: “There is a clear link between poor health – both physical and emotional – and low productivity. With our extensive experience in supporting employers and our extensive range of healthcare experts, Nuffield Health has the expertise that will help employees get the personalised interventions they need on their individual journeys to better health. This innovative venture will help benefit both employers and employees.”
Neville Koopowitz, CEO at VitalityHealth, said: “We are delighted to be launching this new joint venture, which will enable large employers to provide their employees with the support they need to make positive changes to their physical and mental health. We feel this responds to the market’s demand for a comprehensive, behavioural based, standalone wellness product, which benefits all employees and not just those who are traditionally insured.”