Health and medical insurer Westfield Health and SIV have launched a collaborative new health club membership scheme that offers ‘transformational’ mental health support. Both CEOs speak to Kate Cracknell

SIV recently launched a new mental health membership scheme in partnership with Westfield Health. Why?
SIV is the not-for-profit trading arm of Sheffield City Trust, which is a health and wellbeing charity. As such, we have a wide remit: we’re focused on the holistic wellbeing of the people of Sheffield.

Mental health is something that’s relevant to everyone. It isn’t age-related. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. And there’s increased awareness of this among the public. It’s therefore only right that we reflect this in our offering; we need to provide services that are important to the people we serve.

It’s also something we’re in a good position to offer – we’ve long recognised the link between physical fitness and mental wellbeing, so this is an area we’ve been interested in for a while.

How does the partnership work?
Essentially, both SIV and Westfield Health continue to do what we’ve always done – providing our own products – but customers benefit because they can now access additional services at no extra cost.

SIV has always offered a range of different membership packages under its Fitness Unlimited brand, and our new partnership with Westfield Health has allowed us to add another option: an ‘Access All Areas’ gym membership, priced between £26.60 and £38 a month.

Anyone signing up to ‘Access All Areas’ will benefit from a range of health and mental wellbeing solutions through Westfield Health’s ‘Healthy Extras’ scheme. That includes free telephone counselling, 24/7 access to a GP over the phone, and membership of Big White Wall – an online mental health and wellbeing service that offers self-help programmes, creative outlets and online therapy any time, anywhere.

‘Access All Areas’ members also enjoy unlimited access to the gym, swimming, fitness classes and spa facilities at seven SIV venues across the city: EIS Sheffield, Concord Sports Centre, Ponds Forge, Hillsborough Leisure Centre, Springs Leisure Centre, Westfield Sports Centre and Heeley Gym and Pool.

The partnership also offers members access to Westfield Rewards: exclusive deals and money-off discounts at 700 high street and online retailers which is part of Westfield’s range of services.

Why was Westfield Health chosen as the partner?
Westfield Health is a national organisation with headquarters in Sheffield, so it’s very well-known in the local area. It’s also trusted – it will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019.

In addition, SIV has always maintained close links with Westfield Health – we’ve been talking for some time about collaborations and felt we could work well together – so when they approached us with this suggestion, we were keen to take a closer look at the possibilities.

Crucially, Westfield Health also provides the specialist services, expertise and benefits for this mental health product that we can’t offer.

We’ve been working with them on this partnership since autumn 2017.

Did SIV staff receive training to help them speak knowledgeably about the new scheme?
As part of our ongoing staff training programme, we brought in our partners from Westfield Health to speak about what they would be offering our members. However, it’s important to remember that we’re specialists in our area and Westfield Health are specialists in theirs: with a subject as important as this, it’s only right it’s delivered by experts.

When did the scheme launch, and with what success so far?
The scheme launched in July, so it’s still early days, but we’ve been very encouraged by the take-up and interest from customers, both new and existing. The summer is traditionally a quiet time for sign-ups, so we’ll get a better picture as we get further into the year.

We launched the partnership with a three-month trial, but we intend to continue it, and there’s no maximum capacity – the new membership will be available to as many people as want it.

How does this project fit within the overall SIV strategy for health and wellbeing in Sheffield?
Three years ago, we revised our operation as Sheffield City Trust – the health and wellbeing charity – so we’ve been committed to a holistic approach for the people of Sheffield for some time, with a remit that goes far beyond the leisure facilities provided within our venues. For example, we work with a number of agencies across the city, from community groups and schools to Age UK Sheffield.

Meanwhile, in the last year, 1,224 individuals were referred to the SIV Referral Scheme by a GP or medical professional, with most of those people considered inactive prior to referral.

Referrals come from across the city – from more than 80 GP practices – as well as from NHS rehabilitation programmes, mental health services and community-based health trainers.

There have been other initiatives too. For example, to tackle obesity in the city, we introduced a 20p charge on drinks with added sugar sold at cafés and vending machines in SIV leisure facilities.

This initiative has raised more than £30,000 to date, with every penny reinvested in obesity and diabetes prevention programmes for young people.

Is this something more operators could, and should, be doing?
This initiative is perfect for our organisation, but that doesn’t mean it will suit all operators. We have a commitment to the health and wellbeing of everyone in Sheffield; private operators will have different priorities.

As a not-for-profit organisation, the payback for us isn’t financial. This partnership with Westfield Health epitomises what we’re all about: it’s our culture and ethos to provide a holistic service for our customers.

If mental health is so important, will you place more focus on it in all your memberships?
We need to be as flexible as we can be to support our customers’ needs, so some packages will include support for mental health, but not all. The days of the one size fits all scheme have long gone.

What advice would you offer other operators?
If you want to launch a scheme like this, the advice is quite simply: get it right. Mental health is too important a subject to fudge the provision of services in any way or to treat as a marketing tool.

The main challenge is finding the right partner – one that has the skillsets you need to make the scheme work, and that can deliver an expert service. Choose them carefully and don’t do anything that isn’t 100 per cent credible.