- The partnership will support thousands of NHS workers suffering from chronic joint conditions like arthritis or back pain
- Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are second leading cause of absence among NHS staff, and this initiative will help them regain quality of life
- Programme will help deliver Plan for Change’s ambition to build an NHS fit for the future and shift healthcare from hospitals to community
Four thousand frontline NHS staff will benefit from a free rehabilitation programme Nuffield Health are rolling out in partnership with the government to get them back to work, the Health and Social Care Secretary announced today.
Nuffield Health’s Joint Pain Programme will support NHS workers with chronic and long-term joint conditions like arthritis, helping them regain their quality of life and focus on bringing down waiting lists.
It will work with NHS teams to identity staff suitable for the programme and initially offer it at 10 trusts in London, Birmingham and the North West before a national rollout later this year.
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the second leading cause of absence among NHS staff, and this groundbreaking partnership will help them recover and focus on supporting patients.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:
NHS staff cannot treat patients if they’re in debilitating pain themselves.
This partnership with Nuffield Health will help get thousands of NHS staff back to work, improve their quality of life, and allow them to continue to cut waiting lists.
We’ll care for them so they can care for us and deliver our Plan for Change’s goal to build an NHS fit for the future.
Alex Perry, CEO, Nuffield Health said:
Nuffield Health’s mission is to build a healthier nation and our free-to-access Joint Pain Programme is a key part of that. This unique programme has helped over 35,000 people to date improve their health and quality of life.
By offering this free programme directly to NHS staff—including nurses, porters, and paramedics—we are providing them with support to recover, return to work, and continue delivering essential care.
This not only improves their health but also reduces pressure on the NHS by lowering sickness absence and keeping skilled staff where they are needed most
In August 2024, more than two million days were lost due to NHS staff sickness.
Back and musculoskeletal problems led to over 314,000 lost days and over 10,000 members of staff off.
Nuffield Health’s programme has already benefitted 35,000 people, and participants experienced 35% improvement in joint pain and 37% improvement in joint function after taking part in 2024.
On top of this, it prevented 86,226 sick days and resulted in a 29% reduction in GP appointments in 2024.
The programme will deliver the Plan for Change’s ambition to build an NHS fit for the future as part of a decade of national renewal.
It provides 12 weeks of exercise and support led by a personal trainer who has been upskilled to deliver rehabilitation programmes, followed by 12 weeks of access to Nuffield Health fitness facilities – all at no cost.
It will help keep NHS staff healthy and fulfil one of the 10 Year Health Plan’s key ambitions of shifting care from hospital into the community.
Keeping more NHS staff at work will boost productivity – ensuring they can focus on delivering the highest-quality care for patients and continue to cut waiting lists.
Between July and November last year, the NHS carried out almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year – delivering on the government’s mission to fix the NHS.
The government reached the target seven months earlier than promised – with 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week, and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests delivered.
It follows figures published this month which showed the waiting list has been cut by almost 160,000 since the government took office, compared to a rise of almost 33,000 over the same period the previous year.
The Health and Social Care Secretary announced the partnership at an event attended by 100 NHS staff in Peterborough earlier this week to gather their views on how to fix the health service.
The public engagement event will help shape the government’s 10 Year Health Plan and forms part of a nationwide series of debates about how to make the NHS fit for the future.
Ministers and NHS clinicians have carried out engagement events with NHS workers throughout this month – while thousands of NHS staff and the wider public have already submitted a range of ideas on Change NHS. These ideas will inform the government’s Plan for Change, which will drive a decade of national renewal and transform the health service.
A new survey has recently been launched on the page, focusing on patient choice, how to support staff to care for patients, and using technology to improve people’s experiences of the NHS.
Notes to editors
The Joint Pain Programme will be available to NHS staff in the following Nuffield Health locations:
- Wandsworth
- Wandsworth Southside
- City
- Covent Garden
- Shoreditch
- Paddington
- Battersea
- Chiselhurst
- Fulham
- Wimbledon
- Twickenham
- Brondesbury Park
- Stoke Poges
- Friern Barnet Hendon
- Birmingham Central
- Preston
- Bolton
