New Wellness Centre at Veolia Croydon site
The company has opened a ’Wellness Centre’ at its Croydon site which will provide free exercise and gym equipment on site to assist in injury rehabilitation programmes for its staff. A drop-in ‘Wellness Clinic’ will also offer advice and information on smoking cessation, weight management, diabetes, heart disease, diet and exercise.
Physiotherapy and rehabilitation programmes will be offered under the expert supervision of qualified physiotherapists and personal trainers from Back in Action UK, specialists in physiotherapy, workplace health and wellness and who manage, prevent and treat most work related or non work related pain including back pain. Back in Action UK already provides physiotherapy services at a number of Veolia sites across the UK. Social charity, Solutions 4 Life has also teamed up with Veolia to provide wellbeing advice and encourage healthy lifestyles.
This area is of paramount importance for Veolia, which recently won the National Recycling Award for Innovation in Health & Safety Practices. The Wellness Centre is a pilot scheme aimed at improving the health and rehabilitation of Veolia staff. If the initiative proves successful it may be rolled out to other contracts across the UK.
Tom Spaul, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Veolia Environmental Services, commented: “Due to the physical nature of waste management work, the risk of accident and injury is traditionally much higher than in other industries. We’re keen to ensure our employees have every opportunity to stay healthy both at work and in their everyday lives. Our aim for the Wellness Centre is to provide both preventative advice alongside rehabilitation specialists and facilities to ensure our staff get the free care and assistance they need, when they need it.”
Kat Konya, HR Business Partner for the South East at Veolia Environmental Services, commented: “The Wellness Centre is the first of its kind for Veolia and for the waste management industry. Our staff are our priority and it’s hugely important for us to understand the issues our staff face and put the right solutions in place. The Veolia Wellness Centre Croydon was created following an idea from Back in Action UK in collaboration with a member of the workshop staff, a former refuse collector. We’re already seeing individual success stories coming through, which is a really positive step forward in delivering our goal of being the most responsible and committed employer in our sector.”