Kent’s First Wellbeing Symposium – Can You Afford to Miss it?

May 25, 2012 - PRLog -- An interesting array of speakers, exhibitors and experts is being pulled together for a pioneering health and wellbeing event in Kent.

The Kent Wellbeing Symposium, to be held on 3rd October 2012 in Maidstone is the brainchild of Ben McGannan, managing director of Kent-based Water Wellbeing.
The 250-strong audience will include company directors, HR directors and people involved with keeping their workforces fit and healthy – anyone with an interest and responsibility for health and wellbeing in the workplace who wants to find out more, learn new information, techniques and ways to help their staff.

The symposium will give delegates, through speakers and workshops, information on health risks to employees, offering alternative solutions and working practices, allowing discussion on how best to look after health and wellbeing in the workplace. The aim is to prevent workplace-caused problems to both physical and mental health, reducing time lost through sickness absence.

Topics covered will include community partnerships, Employee Assistance Programmes, mental health, resilience, leadership, team-building, council gateways, preventative health needs of manual workers, ‘*engaged prevention’, rewards/benefits and employee engagement.

The symposium will draw together experts in all fields of wellbeing and be opened by the government’s expert and advisor on health and wellbeing, Dame Carol Black.

Dame Carol, who advises both the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions, was the author of government report ‘Working for a Healthier Tomorrow’ which reviewed the health of the UK’s working age population. It highlighted the impact of their health issues to all areas of society – at a cost of around £100bn each year to the UK and made improvement recommendations.

Public sector – local government, NHS and emergency services, alongside both large and small employers in the private sector including community organisations are being invited.

Tickets are priced at £149+VAT for one, £249+VAT for two or £299+VAT for three.

It is hoped that after the event, each organisation will implement something learnt on the day, to improve the day-to-day wellbeing of its employees.

Ben said: “The aim is to arm people with the information they need to keep their workforce healthy and prevent illness or injury using preventative measures.

“Some are really quick and easy to learn and implement whilst others are more complex and longer-term but the Wellbeing Symposium will give people the chance to take away the information they need to make the necessary changes.”

Workshops will include cookery - teaching people how to cook healthily and nutritiously for themselves for work and home, team-building activities, how to improve posture and yoga, massage and how to eat and drink smart to stay well during the working day.

Health check kiosks will also give people the chance to assess their own wellbeing – cholesterol, blood-glucose levels and lung health.

Water Wellbeing was founded in 1992 and provides a full range of products and services to keep people fit and healthy in the workplace and even schools.

*Engaged Prevention - The idea behind Water Wellbeing’s work is to encourage workplace investment in methods of preventing health issues from arising, rather than facing the cost of addressing problems and to encourage employees and others to take more interest in their own health.

More is being confirmed as the date nears on Wednesday 3 October and updates are being put onto the dedicated website.