Staff at Staffordshire County Council have taken 9,000 fewer sick days in a year since introducing a trial physiotherapy service, it has been claimed.
The 8 per cent reduction in sickness absence meant that the county council’s absence rate – now at 7.68 days per employee – was the same as the private sector and below that for similar sized organisations in the public sector. This is said to be equivalent to 36 full time employees or £540,000 worth of gained productivity.
Run by CTC Healthcare, the trial was aimed at those who were suffering from pain and stiffness in joints, muscles, nerves and soft tissues and was offered alongside the council’s own occupational health and staff counselling services. The aim was to enable employees either to remain in work or return to work quickly after an injury.