Personal care services could reduce sick days by 1.76 million

The British Beauty Council, UK Spa Association, BABTAC and the NHBF have been liaising with the government, promoting the positive effects of personal care services on mental health and wellbeing with its latest health report. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) requested supporting evidence illustrating this phenomenon. In the last three months, Dr. Neil Carpenter, Yvonne Ebdon and Helena Grzesk, COO of the British Beauty Council have created the report to support the argument. Not only does the report demonstrate the numerous benefits of personal care services on mental health but also the positive economic impact and opportunity to consider our sector as part of the toolkit for solutions and social prescribing within existing medical services to support the NHS. Some key findings of the report include:

• Mental illness has been a growing health crisis for some time. Mental ill-health is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, contributing up to 22.8% of the total burden, compared to 15.9% for cancer and 16.2% for cardiovascular disease.

 

• There is now significant global evidence that touch therapy, as well as massage, can have a significant effect on reducing mental health problems. There is also evidence that it can address fatigue, compromised immune issues, pre and post-menopausal problems and improve cancer therapy.

 

• Additionally, the report states that massage therapy in part of healthcare in mainland Europe and in Asia, however, it is less supported in the UK. The report shows that massage and touch therapy can help manage back, neck and shoulder pain, osteoarthritis, cancer symptoms and treatment side effects, fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS and premature infant care.

 

• Furthermore, the introduction of touch and massage therapy could reduce mental health problems by 10%, save the UK £10.5 billion, reduce sick days by 1.76 million and reduce sick days related to menopause symptoms by 1.4 million.

  Helena Grzesk, COO of the British Beauty Council, said: “This last year has been challenging for many of us. The negative effect COVID19 has had and continues to have, on people’s mental health and wellbeing is an inevitable and growing concern. It probably won’t surprise you to hear that research has shown that mental health problems have increased by 8% during the pandemic.”   She added: “For months, the British Beauty Council, UK Spa Association, BABTAC and the NHBF have been in conversation with the government addressing this issue and promoting the positive effects of personal care services on mental health and wellbeing. Understandably, to take our claims seriously, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) requested we provided them with supporting evidence illustrating this phenomenon.   “Not only does the report demonstrate the numerous benefits of personal care services on mental health but also the positive economic impact and opportunity to consider our sector as part of the toolkit for solutions and social prescribing within existing medical services to support the NHS,” she said.