Launch of Health Creation at Work
Press Release – for March 1st, 2007
Defusing the 21st Century Health Time Bomb – A radical new idea from Dr Rosy Daniel, Integrated Medicine Consultant
Dr Rosy Daniel is best known for her role as doctor and then Medical Director of the pioneering Bristol Cancer Help Centre between 1985 and 1999. Since then she has been consulted world-wide for her help in setting up integrated healthcare systems which cater to the full needs of patients – orthodox, complementary, psychological and self-help. She has also worked to create effective 'Health Creation' self-help tools for people with cancer and their carers to use at home.
In 2003 she developed the new specialty of health coaching to foster proactive health promotion in the ill and those caring for them through her Health Creation Mentors. As an expert member of the Cancer 2025 think tank convened by Professor Karol Sikora in 2005, she was horrified to learn that cancer now affecting 1 in 3 (lifetime risk) was predicted to treble by 2025! As this effectively means all of us, she decided to commit the rest of her career to setting up effective systems for the prevention of cancer and heart disease – the other cause of premature death and suffering in developed countries.
Initially she attempted to focus her innovative Health Creation coaching approach on individuals, but quickly realised that individuals usually have to be frightened to death to make any significant changes in their health-defining behaviour! It became clear that it is organisations and not individuals who currently have the motivational imperative to foster healthy behaviour in their members. This is because of the '21st century health time bomb' which is about to go off in our midst, costing billions to the tax payer, employer and insurer.
Already the cost of NHS cancer care in the UK is £4 billion per annum and big plans are afoot through Sikora's 'Cancer Partners' to build services for the projected tripling in demand. This is the tip of an iceberg of rising healthcare expenditure due to obesity, stress, diabetes and heart disease all of which are spiraling out of control. Between 2001 and 2006 government health expenditure rose by 66% and still the NHS is deemed on the verge of collapse by many of those working within it.
Equally serious is the effect that this pandemic of degenerative disease will have on employers and the health insurance industry as lifestyle related illnesses such as cancer and heart disease become the norm in an ageing workforce. Added to this is the major problem of workplace stress which is the largest cause of illness in white collar workers, causing severe physical and mental health problems.
Meanwhile, knowing that cancer, heart disease, obesity and stress are found to be 65% to 100% lifestyle related, Dr Daniel has set about systematically changing the nation's health defining behaviour through her new corporate change programme known as 'Health Creation at Work'.
Daniel's innovative holistic approach assesses both the impact of the health and behaviour of individual staff on the productivity of the organization and the impact of the organization's culture on the health of staff, supplying management with crucial forecasting information to calculate the likely impact of sickness and absence on the bottom line. But more than this, through bespoke programmes for individuals, teams and entire organisations, those with worrying profiles can be personally supported into healthier behaviour and corporate change, with a measurable positive impact on the bottom line.
Pilot studies at the prestigious Cromwell Hospital in London showed a highly significant impact on the health and well-being of staff, reducing stress levels by 30% and raising staff energy and morale by 40%. But most significant was a shift of 19% in overall health from poor and fair to good and excellent, which could represent as much as a £285,000 saving on their current annual sickness costs.
Dr Rosy Daniel says " The Cromwell results have surpassed even my expectations and showed that applying an holistic approach to health promotion in the workplace is not only possible but positively enjoyed by staff, who were greatly encouraged by their employers move to support them in positive healthy change. This is the future of healthcare. We must invest in the solution not the problem. I am determined to generate sufficient collective will to stop these health problems before they start."
Health Creation at Work is Launched on March 1st, 2007 at the Health at Work exhibition, Birmingham NEC.