Early Intervention Program and Pre-Screening
Barossa Pilot Early Intervention Program
In September 2021, Acclaimed Workforce launched its pilot Early Intervention Program to clients in the Barossa Valley. The aim of this program was to reduce instances of workforce injuries that may otherwise require employees to take time off work or result in injury claims.
Working together with professional physiotherapists from Physioactive, Acclaimed Workforce provided free physiotherapy sessions to its on-hired workforce, treating both work-related and non-work-related soreness. Read below to see the remarkable outcomes, including some life-changing results for employees and significant savings for employers.
The Challenge
In 2020, Safe Work recorded 120,355 serious injury claims, 44,420 (37%) of which were caused by body stressors – by far the highest factor resulting in claims. Each of these claims cost employers an average of $13,500, while Safe Work estimates that such workplace injuries cost the economy $61.8 billion annually.
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Furthermore, these body stressing injuries occur most frequently within the agriculture, warehousing, construction and manufacturing industries. Most workers will experience some kind of soreness or pain prior to a significant injury occurring, which can be aggravated by jobs performed in, or outside of, the workplace.
The Solution
In 2020, Recognising the importance of early treatment in reducing the risk of potentially debilitating and costly injuries, and facilitating sustainable return to work, Acclaimed Workforce established its pilot Early Intervention Program (EIP) in the Barossa. Engaging the assistance of leading physiotherapy clinic, Physioactive, Acclaimed Workforce offered free physiotherapy sessions to clients’ employees and its on-hired workforce should they be experiencing any pain or soreness from either work-related or non-work-related activities.
Pre-screening employment sessions were also offered, and were used either;
- as part of the initial hiring process to ensure potential workers could safely and competently complete the tasks required of the role without injury, or
- to tailor induction and training to suit the needs of the individual hire .
Appointments were held at Acclaimed Workforce’s Barossa office, with times designed around shift work for convenience. Employees were attended to by Physioactive’s Senior Physiotherapist Jason Collins and Physiotherapist Tim Clift, both of who have extensive experience in return-to-work planning, workplace injury management and prevention.
The Outcome
The data collected by the Physiotherapists from the pilot EIP were extremely positive, and shows there was not only a significant uptake of the physiotherapy sessions by the workforce, but that many potential injury claims have been eliminated.
Seven months after the program’s inception, 301 physiotherapy appointments and four pre-employment screenings have been conducted. Of these, 172 were work-related visits and 129 were non-work related.
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In one specific example, an on-hired production worker injured on July 17, 2021 (right shoulder rotator cuff injury and sub-acromial bursitis), was initially treated by another physiotherapist provider, as Acclaimed Workforce’s EIP hadn’t yet commenced. The worker's injury recovery had become stagnant and had not progressed or regressed for three to four months, however he was still experiencing significant pain.
When the EIP became available, the worker attended some physiotherapy sessions, and within one week of treatment their capacity increased and pain had decreased. Within one month of attending EIP sessions, the worker received full return-to-work clearance and was able to complete all work and home duties without pain or restrictions.
Initial conversations surrounding this individual’s recovery suggested they would need to change their employment, have surgery and would not ever be able to return to production work. However, within a few weeks of undergoing Acclaimed Workforce’s EIP, their recovery outlook had completely changed. This was a life-changing result for the individual, who was able to not only return to work, but do so much faster than anticipated.