Abigail Plumley, Occupational Health Specialist at Balfour Beatty PLC, talked to Mark Wintle, P-Wave brand manager at Robert Scott, about the importance of the NHS men’s health message delivered via urinal mats.
Our partnership with NHS England is unique, and has gained amazing momentum as many large businesses have come on board to support this important and potentially life-saving initiative.
Over one and a half million screens have now been placed with the ongoing support of an ever-growing group of partners from large businesses such as Sodexo, phs Group, Mitchells & Butlers, and even Manchester United football club, conference centres such as The Brighton Centre and even many small country pubs. The more men see the message, the more effective the campaign becomes.”
Balfour Beatty implements P-Wave’s NHS message across all sites
One huge advocate for the campaign is Abigail Plumley, Occupational Health Specialist at Balfour Beatty PLC.
“My husband was 31 when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer,” Abi says. “He was on a night out and he rang me to say he was passing blood clots in my urine. One episode, that was all. He thought it might be that he had had a bit too much to drink, and that it had irritated the lining of the bladder. But I went straight to worst case scenario and thought that was likely to be either a kidney or bladder cancer.
“He went to his GP who immediately referred him to the hospital and he was seen immediately. Ultrasound showed a lump which was either a cyst or cancer. After surgery, histology showed that it was bladder cancer, and it was successfully dealt with. But that was all from a single episode of blood in the urine.
“So afterwards I’m scrolling LinkedIn, and P-Wave popped up, with this simple and key messaging on the urinal mat. I immediately thought, we need that on all our sites, because we need to create awareness. Because if my husband hadn’t me in the background, he would have thought ‘well it’s only one episode’ and he might not have gone to his GP, and that would have been it.
“I strongly believe it makes a real difference, not just because it makes the urinals smell nice, which is really important, but also because of the messaging. We're really grateful to have been working with P-Wave to get these products in and get this important message out there, because a simple message really can help save a life.”
Putting wellbeing at the heart of business
“We have a ‘my contribution’ portal where employees can put their ideas forward, and that's where Abi’s suggestion to use the P-Wave urinal screens to promote cancer awareness across the sites started,” said James Vizard, Senior Mobilisation Partner at Balfour Beatty plc. “We have ‘zero harm’ at the heart of the business, but that goes beyond stopping someone getting injured in the field, it is also very much about physical and mental health.
“So, working with P-Wave to deliver a potential life-saving message is one of the positive improvements we can make. For a business like Balfour Beatty, it’s a relatively cost-neutral exercise. If we can improve the life of one person, that’s a result.”
Literally saving lives
“Initially, we wanted to know if it was working, if people were going to the doctors to get checked. But we quickly realised that for P-Wave, this isn’t about data. It's not even about us,” says Mark Wintle. “Sometimes metrics are irrelevant. I mean, how do you really measure a conversation that finally happens or a worry that turns into a doctor’s visit? You can't. And we have seen at least one ultimate success in Berry Mulder’s story.
Cancer survivor Berry Mulder credits the NHS England message seen on a P-Wave urinal mat in a Marks and Spencer store in Bristol with helping to save his life. After reading the prompt, he sought medical advice and was later diagnosed and successfully treated for testicular cancer. Now more than one year cancer-free, Berry reached out to the P-Wave team to express his gratitude, saying: “Dear P-Wave, I’d like to thank you and the NHS from the bottom of my heart – because you probably saved my life.”
The NHS campaign has been expanded to feature messaging on urinal trough screens in sports stadiums and large venues, meaning even more men can benefit from the campaign. P-Wave’s brand initiative with NHS England continues to create the opportunity to turn men’s washrooms into centres for wellbeing, improving men’s health and even saving some lives along the way.
If you would like to find out how you or your company could participate in the NHS England and P-Wave men’s health awareness campaign please get in touch – we’d love to spread the word and save lives, one washroom at a time.