Rotherham Council Secures Funding for Workplace Cardiovascular Disease Health Check Pilot

In a landmark initiative to improve workforce health and combat cardiovascular disease (CVD), Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has successfully secured funding to provide free “Health Checks” to businesses across Rotherham. This funding comes as part of the £10 million secured from HM Treasury’s Shared Outcome Fund to launch a nationwide pilot aimed at delivering and evaluating 150,000 CVD health checks in workplaces by March 2025. A substantial £7 million of this funding is allocated specifically to the Workplace Cardiovascular Disease Health Checks Pilot for 2024/25.

CVD is one of the leading contributors to economic inactivity, alongside mental health conditions and musculoskeletal disorders. There is a troubling trend of people experiencing heart attacks and strokes at younger ages, particularly affecting working-age individuals. Currently, 1 in 3 heart attack victims and 1 in 4 stroke victims are of working age, with a significant proportion unable to return to work following a stroke. Preventing CVD is crucial not only to achieving the government’s health mission of reducing deaths from leading killers like heart disease and stroke but also to ensuring people remain healthy and active in the workforce.

Rotherham Council’s success in applying for this funding will enable free CVD health checks for employees in businesses throughout the borough. These checks, to be delivered by Connect Healthcare Rotherham CIC, the local GP federation, aim to identify risk factors for heart disease and stroke among the working population. The programme will be delivered in collaboration with the Healthy Workplace initiative, which focuses on improving the overall wellbeing of employees by promoting early intervention and prevention.

Employers, from large public sector bodies to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-businesses, can access these free health checks, which are designed to identify risk factors for CVD and provide workers with support to manage their health. The pilot aims to particularly reach groups who may be less likely to engage in traditional NHS Health Checks, such as younger men and people from more deprived communities.

Connect Healthcare Rotherham CIC will play a pivotal role in the delivery of these health checks across Rotherham, working with local businesses to offer tailored assessments. These checks will either be the standard NHS Health Checks or alternative cardiovascular risk assessments, depending on the needs of the specific workplace or employee cohort.

By offering these services in workplaces, the programme ensures that vital health checks are made more accessible to the working population, reducing the risk of CVD-related illness and absenteeism in the local workforce. The data collected during the pilot will help determine the feasibility and impact of delivering health checks in workplace settings and will be used to guide future health interventions.

This pilot builds upon the already established NHS Health Checks Programme, which has been the flagship initiative for CVD prevention in England. The NHS Health Check aims to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease among adults aged 40-74 through a comprehensive assessment of risk factors, including smoking, BMI, cholesterol, and blood pressure. While over 11 million people have been invited to participate in NHS Health Checks over the last five years, only 40.6% of those invited have attended. The new Workplace CVD Health Checks Pilot aims to improve engagement by bringing the checks directly to employees.

Rotherham Council’s participation in this groundbreaking pilot underscores its commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of its working population. By offering free health checks through Connect Healthcare Rotherham CIC, the Council is actively addressing one of the biggest causes of economic inactivity, helping to keep employees healthy, productive, and engaged in their work.

This initiative will also contribute valuable data to the national programme, helping to shape future efforts to combat CVD and improve workplace health across the country. Rotherham’s businesses stand to benefit from healthier, more resilient employees, ensuring a brighter economic future for the region.

Read the full document here.