PROVIDING occupational physiotherapy services available to hundreds of staff has significantly boosted productivity at two Bradford-based healthcare and social housing organisations.

Bradford District Care Trust reported a 60 per cent increase in productivity among those who received treatment which was made available to 2,800 employees through the employee health and wellbeing department at Airedale NHS Foundation.

The patients, including school and district nurses, social workers, and healthcare support workers, also reported pain reduction of around 68 per cent.

Shipley-based social housing operator Incommunities made the treatment available to its 1,200 staff and saw a 31 per cent increase in productivity and a 64 per cent pain reduction among the 76 employees who underwent treatment.

The two companies have worked with Leeds-based Physio Med since 2009, which made fast-track access to physiotherapy available to their staff.

Following the success of the treatment Physio Med, one of the UK’s leading physiotherapy providers, has signed a new contract with Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, which provides health and wellbeing services to employees of large local healthcare and social housing organisations Working with the trust’s employee health and wellbeing department, Physio Med, which has a UK-wide network of 2,500 senior chartered physiotherapists in 780 approved practices, provides a service promising an initial contact call within just four hours of the condition being reported and an appointment within five days.

Joanne Hoban, acting head of service at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The employees at Incommunities and Bradford District Care Trust all provide vital community services and it is in everyone’s interests to ensure they are fighting fit and able to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

“By the nature of many of the roles within those organisations the employees can be susceptible to musculoskeletal injuries and in fact across the two organisations approximately two thirds of those employees who sought treatment had conditions that were work related or work aggravated.

“By working with Physio Med we are able to provide fast track access to physio treatment and help them to reduce the pain of these conditions and get back to work as soon as possible so we are delighted to be able to continue to provide this service.”

Physio Med, launched in 2000 and provides services to major national businesses including Waitrose, Carlsberg, Eon and the Department for Work & Pensions.