Re Adrian Chiles’s column (Does your job take a toll on your body? You’re in trouble unless you’re an athlete, 6 April), building workers both deserve, and need, the kind of physical healthcare that athletes get. During building work for the 2012 London Olympics, contractors were encouraged to run warm-up and stretching sessions to protect workers from injury – and many did. We provided, through Park Health, a comprehensive health programme for thousands of builders that included physiotherapy for those who suffered injury from work, or during football at the weekend.
There remains a huge gap between workers’ needs and the scope and funding of the NHS for prevention; occupational health is a key example of this failure to prevent ill health rather than treat afterwards. Bad for workers, and economically foolish.
Lawrence Waterman
Chiswick, London
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