A TOP Government minister paid a flying visit to York to officially open a £1.5 million occupational health and wellbeing centre.

NHS staff at York Hospital, together with more than 14,000 workers from 113 local businesses, are already benefiting from the state-of-the-art facilities, which have been up and running since September.

Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson arrived in Clifton Moor yesterday morning to unveil a plaque at the centre in Centurion Park, before being taken on a tour of the site.

Speaking to The Press after his tour, Mr Johnson said he was extremely impressed by the facilities, which have already helped to cut long-term sick leave among York employees.

He said: “This is a really great service for businesses in York.

“It is run by real experts in occupational health who can help employees with work-related muscular skeletal and mental health problems.

“As well as helping individuals, they also advise the company to ensure that the problems won’t happen again in the future.

“The service is run in partnership with GPs, but GPs often don’t understand in as greater detail as occupational health experts the world of work.

“I spoke to some of the businesses who use the centre and they said it had already been of enormous benefit.

“They said they had already seen a reduction in the amount of long-term sick leave since the service opened.”

The centre was funded thanks to a £1.3million grant from the Department of Health and another £190,000 from York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

As well as occupational health services, it offers a range of services, including physiotherapy, chiropractic, podiatry and complementary therapies such as aromatherapy and reflexology.

It has been designated as an innovation site by NHS Plus – a Department of Health-funded project aimed at increasing the provision and quality of health and wellbeing services to smaller businesses.

York Hospital was one of only five hospital trusts in the country to be awarded the Government grant – and the only one north of Cambridge.

Andrew Gilbey, the hospital’s assistant director of occupational health, said: “By offering a one-stop shop of health and wellbeing support for smaller businesses and other employers, our centre can help both staff and employers.”