At the time of its response to Dame Carol Black's Review of the health of the working-age population, the Government announced the Public Sector as Exemplar initiative (PSE) whose aim is to improve and promote the public sector as an exemplar employer. Central government, local government and the National Health Service are three of the largest employers in the country and have some of the highest levels of sickness absence and work-related stress. Reversing these would make a significant impact on the overall profile of health and well-being and showcase the Government as a more credible advocate of good practice to other employers and stakeholders. In particular, the public sector needs to lead by example in terms of:
- Promotion of health and well-being;
- Prevention of illness;
- Early intervention for those who develop a health condition; and
- Early rehabilitation of those off work
Our intention for the PSE is not to include every single example of employee health and well-being taking place across the public sector but rather to focus on building a few discrete, manageable areas where innovative work is already underway. Beyond this, we will continue to encourage and support other initiatives. The following are amongst the activities that are included in the PSE:
- The Healthier Food Mark - a food based standard for assessment of public sector healthy eating.
- The NHS Workforce Health and Well-being Review - aims to investigate and improve the health of NHS staff and their health and well-being provision at work. www.nhshealthandwellbeing.org
- Local government activity - the Local Government Association and Local Government Employers are currently preparing up to 10 case studies of health and well-being good practice in local government.
This list is not set in stone and other activities will be included as the initiative progresses. If you would like to find out more about the Public Sector as Exemplar initiative or would like to suggest a public sector example for possible inclusion, please email publicsector@dh.gsi.gov.uk