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29 Mar 2010 - PruHealth adds online hospital finder
18 Dec 2006 - Britons choose hygiene over privacy
07 Dec 2006 - Health: How Much?
02 May 2006 - MRSA - THE FACTS
20 Feb 2006 - Chaos over civil partnerships
20 Feb 2006 - Our Health, our care, our say
26 Jan 2006 - Insurance Company Offers
08 Dec 2005 - How much is stress costing your business?

29 Mar 2010 - PruHealth adds online hospital finder

PruHealth has a new interactive hospital finder tool so you can see a list of your nearest hospitals based on postcode.

It provides information about the distance of the hospital and which lists the hospital is on (local, national, London and premier).

AXA PPP Healthcare, Bupa and Standard Life have similar tools.

Britons choose hygiene over privacy as the top reason for wanting private medical insurance, according to BUPA's annual health of the nation survey. The survey was conducted earlier in the year and involved 1,024 face to face interviews.

Reasons for having Private Medical Insurance:-

• Access to clean hospitals is the most important reason for taking out PMI for 62 percent of those questioned, showing that MRSA and general hospital hygiene continue to remain hot topics.
• Almost 8 in 10 people who already have PMI believe that faster access to specialists was key to enjoying the benefits of health insurance.
• 73 percent of people felt that being able to see the same consultant was the main advantage.
• Less than a third of people (30 percent) thought that having their own room was the most pressing incentive for taking out PMI.
• One in ten of those questioned have PMI, however, more than two-thirds felt that there were good reasons to take it out.

When questioned on the reasons for not taking out private medical insurance, affordability and being happy to rely on the NHS were the top reasons.

Cancer remains the top health concern for both men and women whilst heart disease and blood pressure are also a worry. However, 17 percent of women are also worried about Bird Flu while about one in ten men are concerned by the virus.

The majority of UK residents are wholly unaware of how expensive healthcare treatments and procedures are in real terms, whether performed on the NHS or by private providers, a new survey says.

Insurance and investment firm Legal and General says that people underestimate the true cost of healthcare by almost two-fifths.

Research conducted by YouGov in May of this year found that the most commonly undervalued health treatment was cataract removal, with respondents' average estimate of £1,362 58 per cent short of the actual cost of £3,275.

While the cost of treating varicose veins (£2,680) was misjudged by 43 per cent, it is not just cheaper procedures that are miscalculated, with Britons estimating how much heart bypasses cost healthcare providers as £10,347, more than £7,000 off the realistic cost.

Other treatments that respondents had false value-impressions of in Legal and General's survey include hip replacement, hernia repair and knee replacement, with the true cost of the former underestimated by two-fifths.

Tessa Webster, director of customer services at the company, warned that few people "are aware of the actual costs of treatment should they need an operation, which only the minority could afford if they were expected to pay it themselves".

She added that "despite negative press coverage the service the NHS provides can be invaluable", with four-fifths of Britons saying they rely on the health service for healthcare.

Today's survey also found that people aged between 18 to 29-years-old are the least clued up when it comes to healthcare costs, while the over 50s are the most in the know

source inthenews.co.uk

02 May 2006 - MRSA - THE FACTS

20 Feb 2006 - Chaos over civil partnerships

Hundreds of thousands of businesses face chaos thanks to the new law that officially recognizes same-sex couples in registered civil partnerships as married.

Same-sex couples can now claim parental leave, emergency time off for dependents, adoption leave, maternity and paternity leave, and can make requests for flexible working. The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 gives same-sex couples the same rights as married couples. That means businesses will need to make sure that all rights and benefits given to married employees are also offered to staff who have the status of civil partner.

Where, for example, an employer has a benefits package (such as private health care), which is available to the spouse of an employee, it should also be available to an employees civil partner. More favourable benefits can also be conferred on civil partners as they are for married people, and a surviving civil partner will be entitled to the same pension benefits as those of a surviving spouse.

20 Feb 2006 - Our Health, our care, our say: a new direction in community services

A new direction in community services

On 31 January, the Department of Health published a White Paper entitled 'Our Health, our care, our say: a new direction in community services', stating that the Government aims to build on previous work and move towards "a greater emphasis on prevention".

Some of the areas of the White Paper which we believe are of most relevance to our industry, our businesses, and the businesses of our clients are:

• Introduction of a new NHS "Life Check" for people to assess their lifestyle risks, with the aim that they will then take the "right steps to make healthier choices". An online self-assesment will be developed first (2006/07) followed by a pilot of the "Life Check" in a few spearhead Primary Care Trusts by 2007/08.
• More support to maintain mental health and emotional well-being, including a campaign encouraging people to contribute to the "drive for a Fitter Britain by 2012".
• Better access to GPs by offering opening times and convenient appointments which are more in line with the needs of patients in their area by 2007/08.
• Development of a "risk management framework" which the Government believes will enable people using services to take greater control over how they live their lives.
• Click on this link, to view the executive summary and brief guide of the white paper, which goes into more detail regarding the points we have raised.

26 Jan 2006 - Insurance Company Offers

PruHealth are offering any new private medical insurance customers free gym membership to Canons or Holmes Place up until 28th February. The membership will be free for 6 months and there is no tie in period. PruHealth have a unique health insurance concept where they reward their customers for staying healthy. They operate a system called "vitality" and points are awarded for various activities. These points can mean that medical insurance premiums are lower at renewal. For more information, contact Best Health Protect on 0208 989 0360.

08 Dec 2005 - How much is stress costing your business?

For most organisations, employees are the biggest investment they make.
Like every asset, it pays to ensure they have the right environment to maximise their effectiveness and productivity. For many companies the effects of stress in the workplace is a real cost burden.

Research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development in 2004 identified that nearly 40% of employers reported an increase in stress-related absence, compared to the previous 12 months.

The cost and consequences of employee absences have long been a serious issue for UK employers, but proactive moves to limit them are only just beginning in the UK. Plenty of research exists to demonstrate that promotion of health and wellbeing in the workplace can create improvements in productivity and reduce absenteeism.

Employers in the Bristol area attended a seminar on Thursday 8th December to find out for themselves how investing in the Health and Wellbeing of their workforce can provide tangible benefits.

Companies based in Bristol who have recognised the benefits of promoting Health and Wellness in the workforce include Mechanical Engineering Services, Lucy Bristow Appointments and Mainline Employment, all of whom are very happy to talk about their own experiences with the media.

The seminar was sponsored by Pruhealth and hosted by Cannons Health Club in Bristol. Best Health Protect are keen on promoting Pruhealth as they have an innovative product that is unique in the market place. Their medical insurance recognises and rewards members for staying healthy. Cannons Health Clubs are vitality partners with Pruhealth. The Vitality Points concept is that if members reach a certain level of points, their premiums are reduced. There are many ways to achieve these points - going to the gym, checking the Pruhealth website for healthy meal recipes, having a health check etc.

Burges Salmon, well known employment law specialists locally, spoke at the seminar about the legal implications of stress in the workplace and of course preventing them.