Health15 Strengthens Mission to Save Lives Through Expanded Workplace Health Checks
TBIG’s Project Director Jamie Summers, Independent Chair Hon Dame Suzanne Snively and Managing Director Ian Macaskill with Minister of Health Simeon Brown (second left) at Parliament for Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand’s event announcing the workplace initiative.
The era of “she’ll be right” and putting off vital health checks will soon be rectified for thousands of New Zealand workers, with the launch of a breakthrough workplace initiative spearheaded by some of the country’s leading health charities.
Health15 delivers 15-minute, on-site workplace health and wellbeing checks, empowering busy workers to take control of their long-term health while helping employers reduce the costs of absenteeism and enhance staff wellness.
The expanded programme is a unique collaboration involving eight of Aotearoa’s leading health charities – Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand, Arthritis New Zealand, The Cancer Society, the Heart Foundation, Epilepsy New Zealand, Diabetes New Zealand, Melanoma New Zealand and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
“Getting time off work to get to a GP practice or community health provider is often problematic for busy workers, so now, a mobile team of health experts comes directly to your business, office or construction site,” says Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand Chief Executive Jo Lambert.
“The programme is confidential and non-judgmental, delivering maximum, potentially life-saving benefits with minimal disruption”.
The Health15 programme will carry out spot checks for blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, blood glucose, cholesterol, and skin cancers, along with lifestyle assessments, referrals for follow-up care, 15-minute Toolbox Talks education sessions from expert providers, distribution of educational resources and social media resources for employers.
The initiative builds on the original Health15 programme jointly launched by Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand and The Building Intelligence Group (TBIG) in 2023, delivering blood pressure and atrial fibrillation checks for the construction industry nationwide. TBIG was inspired to be joint kaitiaki of the programme due to one of its Programme Directors, Jamie Summers, suffering a stroke, aged 39, six years ago. It’s so far reached 2400-plus workers across 66 sites, involving 19 corporate partners.
“We established Health15 to create a targeted, rather than scattergun approach to raising awareness of stroke and reducing stroke risk,” Lambert explains.
She says the construction sector was targeted as it’s typified by high stress roles, long-hours, often challenging access to health services.
“We’ve also found that most people we’ve tested rarely engage with conventional health services until the last minute, when an underlying health risk or condition risks becoming a bigger problem. Getting to them early, through a streamlined service, breaks down barriers and also enables us to test and educate many people in one visit.”
Lambert says the success of that initial programme and the positive feedback from participants has been immeasurable, with workers saying they feel empowered and encouraged to make solid lifestyle changes and seek follow-up medical advice.
“We know that high blood pressure – a leading risk of stroke – is a common risk factor shared with several long term health conditions, so collaborating with other health charities and bringing them in alongside us to deliver Health15 is an efficient means of boosting prevention and early detection of major illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy and cancers.”
Long-term sick leave costs NZ businesses up to $1,000 per employee per year, with a national impact projected to reach $1.79 billion by 2030. As a financial investment in worker wellbeing, Health15 helps reduce absenteeism, boost productivity, and promote health and wellbeing outcomes across industries.
The newly expanded programme is set to launch in February, initially delivering care to more than 1000 Hawkins Construction staff working on the $1b Auckland Airport Domestic Terminal build, with Southbase workers to follow later in the rollout.
Also announced is the launch of a new set of qualification skill standards for healthcare workers keen to upskill in the delivery of care to more than one million New Zealanders living with long term health conditions.
Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand, Diabetes NZ, Arthritis NZ and the Heart Foundation have collaborated with Toitū te Waiora Workforce Development Council to develop the New Zealand Level 3 Certificate in Long-Term Health Conditions qualification.
“The management of long-term health conditions solely through the primary medical, nursing, and allied health workforce, is now becoming unsustainable. These new skill standards will build the capability and capacity of potentially 30,000 healthcare workers, helping thousands live longer in the community, free from the burden of disease.” Lambert says.
The Open Polytechnic, which delivers online distance learning throughout New Zealand has partnered with the four NGO’s to design and deliver the Level 3 Certificate and associated micro-credentials from early next year.
ENDS
About Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand
Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand is the national charity dedicated to stroke.
Every year, it’s estimated over 9,000 strokes and an unknown number of transient ischaemic attacks happen in New Zealand. It is the second leading cause of death in New Zealand, and a leading cause of adult disability. Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand is here to lead the fight against stroke. We seek to inspire, unify, and mobilise collective action against stroke. Together, we can build a stronger, healthier, Aotearoa.
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