Our philosophy at SAS is to work with your staff to prevent and reduce staff absence. All of the health and wellbeing support we offer is designed and implemented by our team of experienced in-house SAS Nurses. We aim to help keep staff in work, ensuring the children at your School/Academy get the best possible opportunity to succeed! All services are confidential, Clinical Director led & managed by our SAS NMC Registered Nurses. The services we offer have been developed with over 20 years experience, working in close partnership with schools and their staff to discover the root cause of staff absence and researching what we can do to help. We want to be there to support and care for your staff when symptoms develop, not just when an absence occurs. Therefore, all our health & wellbeing services can be accessed without staff being absent from work. Over 60% of staff who accessed our health & wellbeing services were not absent from work at all in 2018.
Nurse Support Service
In 2018, our nursing team supported over 13,600 school staff across the UK. SAS directly employ NMC registered nursing staff who are on hand to speak to whenever you have a health concern. Our nursing team can sign post to relevant wellbeing services and:
- Assist staff with queries relating to their own wellbeing
- Empower staff to ask the right questions regarding their condition
- Welcome calls to offer extra care when needed, no query too big or small
- Offer peace of mind with effective pastoral care
Counselling
Statistics show that around 1 in 4 people in any given year experience mental health conditions. SAS are proactively supporting schools with this, carrying out on average over 220 sessions of counselling per week. Our research informs us that stress accounts for approximately 31% of absence within Schools/Academies. We are doing everything we can do to improve this statistic.
- SAS offer solution focused therapy sessions to named staff
- Available whether you are still working in school or absent through illness
- Session content and access is completely confidential
- The cause of illness does not need to be work related
Physiotherapy
Of those accessing our physiotherapy service, the likelihood of potential absence went down by 36% from referral to discharge in 2018. It is estimated that around 43% of people in the UK suffer with chronic pain. In an effort to reduce waiting times to access therapy, SAS offer a private physiotherapy service to ensure that while staff are waiting for a referral they can access therapy to alleviate discomfort:
- Support any condition a GP has recommended physiotherapy as treatment
- Cause does not need to be work-related
- Aim to place referrals with a physiotherapist within a week
- Private physiotherapy clinic with locations nationwide
Medical Services
According to the NHS waiting times guide, the maximum waiting time for non-urgent consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks from the day the appointment is booked through the referral system. Research has shown that many staff absences are caused by staff awaiting an operation on the NHS, but due to the length of the waiting list and their level of discomfort they are unable to continue with their work duties. SAS work to reduce waiting times for non-urgent operations, enabling staff to return to their usual duties sooner. Some examples of operations SAS provide are:
- Cataracts
- Hernias
- Gall Stones
- Bladder
- Joints - Hip & knee, correction & replacement
- Haemorrhoids
- Men’s Health
- Women’s Health
- Carpal Tunnel
Cancer & Chronic Illness Support
Recent statistics show that there are around 363,000 new cases of cancer in the UK every year. That is around 990 cases per day. Our in-house nurse team can offer support to you if you have received a diagnosis of cancer or a chronic long-term condition. This can be a vital line of emotional support during a very difficult and confusing time. Additional complementary therapies can be made available to assist with the physical/psychological symptoms which can accompany such a diagnosis.
Weight Management
SAS work in partnership with Slimming World to provide a 12-week weight management service for staff with a BMI above 30. Slimming World will provide a “readiness to change” interview with one of their consultants to make sure the programme is appropriate for your staff and that they are committed to changing their lifestyle.
Menopause Support
In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51. Through conversations with individuals contacting our SAS Nursing Team, it was recognised that a number of calls involved questions regarding menopause. Our Head of Nursing, Mandy Dowsing, has attended a recognised course for nurses covering the issues associated with menopause and all of our in-house qualified nurses are trained to provide support for these queries. SAS also work in partnership with Simply Hormones and we have received media attention for the recognition of our work in this area.
GP Consultations
We recognise the need for staff to have 24/7 access to medical advice for themselves and their children. In response we have included an extensive GP service within our support package:
- Active NHS GPs providing the highest level of medical support & advice
- A worldwide service, accessible anywhere
- Support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- Only GP service provider with unlimited consultation length & no limit to the number of times the service is used
Mindfulness
Mindfulness and meditation teaches us to enjoy the journey, be present rather than reflecting on the past or worrying about the future and can aid the reduction of stress. Stress Awareness sessions, delivered and designed by an experienced therapist,help staff recognise stress in oneself, in others and learn to be more resilient to managing anxiety.
Pupil Wellbeing Services
As part of SAS Whole School Wellbeing, our Schools can benefit from Pupil Wellbeing Services designed to fit the new Ofsted rating system introduced from September 2019.
- Be A Champion: Pupil health and wellbeing mentoring programme focusing on improving mindset, sleep patterns, eating habits and physical activity
- Mable Therapy: Award winning, innovating speech & language therapy programme
- My SEND App: Bespoke and private app based support for pupils with SEND
- Pupil Counselling & Yoga: SAS can also provide counselling support for pupils and Yoga lessons for class groups. Please contact SAS for a quotation for this service.
