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Disappearing Dentistry

The hot topic of falling NHS dental statistics has hit the news again with headlines of Dental System 'Failing Patients' (Sky News) and Abscess rise 'amid dental crisis' (BBC News) to name a few.

Presenteeism May 08

Presenteeism

Research suggests that sickness at work does not always result in absence from work. Can cash plans help to combat the growing problem of presenteeism?

We are all well aware of the cost to businesses of absenteeism but maybe an even greater problem is presenteeism – are your employees at work but too ill or distracted to be productive?

Several factors have contributed to this. The main one being that employees are concerned about job security, and with increasing pressures of work many people are working well over their contract hours because they feel that they have to get the job done. A culture has arisen where illness is seen as a weakness and employees feel compelled to come into work although they are ill.

Additionally company’s own systems for containing their sickness absence costs are creating another problem with employees coming into work when they may not be fully fit.

Examples that have hit the headlines are Tesco’s decision in 2004 not to pay employees for the first three days of sickness absence. At the same time Royal Mail announced a prize draw with cars and holidays as prizes for employees with a clean absence record.

Restricted access to healthcare for minor health problems has had an affect, particularly with the difficultly experienced by some people trying to see an NHS dentist, a physiotherapist or even simply seeing a GP.

With a slow down in the economy, there will be further pressure on job security and many employees will feel they have no option but to go into work, whether they have health issues or not.

Introducing a cash plan can be the answer to this problem as they encourage employees to go for regular checks that come under the dental and optical benefit. Problems can be detected at an early stage before they become a major problem and affect the person’s work. For example, an eye test can identify conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, while a dental check-up could reveal joint disease and oral cancer.

The other benefits can also have a preventative aspect as employees have easy access to a physiotherapist and can get treatment quickly before a problem has time to worsen.

Cash plans give employees easy access to specialists and diagnostic testing including MRI, CT and PET scans, this gives them peace of mind. NHS waiting lists for these services can still be lengthy, leaving employees concerned and worrying about their health. This is certain to have a detrimental effect on productivity so fast access and help towards costs can alleviate this.

Cash plans offer a low cost option and can provide:-

• Early detection through routine health checks
• Easy access to therapists
• East access to consultants
• Easy access to diagnostic tests
• Employee Assistance Programmes or stress helplines

All of these combined, have a positive effect on employee motivation sending out positive signals to show that the company is concerned about staff wellbeing.

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