Get a tip from a barmaid: pub staff could be used to spread public health message

Bar staff and barbers could soon be crucial players in helping people see the dangers of excessive drinking, lack of exercise and unhealthy diets, according to a government-commissioned report.

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), a charity dedicated to improving health and wellbeing in society, has outlined plans for a range of different occupations – including cleaners, hairdressers, postal workers, and pub and restaurant staff – that could be enlisted to support efforts to tackle the public health crisis in England.

The RSPH report, Rethinking the Public Health Workforce, states that as many as 15 million workers – more than a quarter of England’s population of 54 million – could help form a “wider public health workforce” with sufficient training.

With bookmakers already having dipped their toes in the water by spreading public health messages to men who would normally avoid their local GPs’ surgery, the NHS and local authority services are now being urged to consider going further in nudging reluctant souls of both genders into seeking medical help and advice.

Cleaners and postal workers are among sections of the workforce that could help spread the message, the report says .

Similarly, bars and other businesses could provide less forbidding venues for checking blood pressure and carrying out other medical tests, engaging people in “conversations” about healthy lifestyles and offering “signposts” to steer them on to more specialist services.

Shirley Cramer, RSPH’s chief executive, said: “A wide variety of professions enjoy a trusted relationship and regular contact with the public. Such professionals may be able to offer the public advice or, indeed, be asked for such advice.

“If you consider bars or restaurants as an example, there may be potential for people working in these establishments to help promote healthier choices or to signpost to a range of other lifestyle health services, including smoking cessation or physical activity.”

Cramer added that by engaging with workers far beyond those normally used to spread public health messages, “not only might we help support these individuals to improve their own health and wellbeing, but reaching out to the people they interact with could be significant”.

The society’s research suggested one in four people would be prepared to take public health advice from hairdressers and shop workers.

Mike Taylor, director of the British Barbers’ Association, said: “We have over 200,000 barbers and hairdressers nationally and many enjoy a trusted and long-standing relationship with customers.

“Ensuring the health and wellbeing of our customers isn’t just the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense, and we believe that our sector can and should be part of the wider public health movement.”

Taylor added: “Obviously this needs to be handled in a sensitive manner, but there is a possibility to develop this further and signpost customers to health advice and support, if customers indicate this is something they’d be interested in.”

Ladbrokes, the betting chain with 2,200 outlets across the UK, has already done some work in this area, working with the Men’s Health Forum on Men’s Health Week, while prostate cancer charities have also pioneered different ways of spreading health messages to men.

Gráinne Hurst, director of corporate affairs at Ladbrokes, said posters in shops and leaflets for customers had challenged men to look after their relationships and wellbeing more, drink sensibly, watch their weight, not smoke, be active and turn up for regular NHS health checks.

“We have large footfall in our shops of men aged to 60,70-odd and some of these wouldn’t necessarily go to the doctor or engage with public health messages generally.” Anecdotal feedback had been positive, she said.

Moves to engage far more workers beyond the 40,000-strong “core public health workforce” had up to now tended to look at a pool of about 800,000 other workers, including other health professionals such as podiatrists and physiotherapists, police, fire and ambulance services, welfare and housing professionals and community pharmacy teams.

The suggestion that businesses could do more to promote public health messages comes amid mounting criticism of food and drink industries for including far too much salt and sugar in their products.

Deborah McKenzie, director of organisational and workforce development at Public Health England, one of the health bodies that commissioned the report, welcomed the suggestions for collaborative action.

“This is everyone’s responsibility and the wider workforce can play an important role in making every contact count, encouraging people to make healthier lifestyle choices,” she said.