Express & Star

Russells Hall Hospital told to look at nurse obesity

Obesity levels among nurses at a Black Country hospital need to be tackled, a top director has suggested.

Published
Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley

Health bosses at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley have been advised to look at the issue of obesity among staff 'in a sensitive way'.

The comments were made by Richard Miner, a non-executive director at the Dudley Group NHS Trust, which runs Russells Hall, who pushed for action to ensure nurses were healthy.

It comes following research which found one in four nurses nationally were classed as obese.

Minutes of a board meeting in December recorded Mr Miner asking for health experts to keep on top of the issue.

A trust board report said: "Mr Miner, non-executive director, advised that he had raised the issue of obesity at a previous board and commented on the recently published research on obesity levels amongst nursing staff.

"He suggested that this may be something for the workforce committee to look at in a sensitive way.

"The Director of HR confirmed that part of the new HR manager’s portfolio is to look at health and wellbeing of staff."

A spokeswoman said hospital chiefs 'don't believe we have an obesity problem' but added staff are supported to 'make healthy choices'.

The spokeswoman said: "The trust proactively promotes healthy lifestyles and healthy eating among both our staff and patients.

"We support staff with a choice of healthy food options in the restaurants and by advertising the fresh fruit and veg stall at the entrance to Russells Hall Hospital.

"There is also a gym on site with reduced membership rates for staff alongside a number of other initiatives.

"We don’t believe we have an obesity problem among nursing staff or any other particular staff group. However, we continue to support our staff to make healthy choices."

Research published last month found a quarter of NHS nurses are obese and that this could be contributing to high staff sickness levels and piling more pressure on the health service.