* The CARS Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre performed more than 70,000 procedures last year in preventive, healthcare and rehabilitation medicine
* The orthopaedic and physiotherapy services were the most widely requested, while cardiology and gynaecology detected early 50 new cases of pathology
* Nearly one third of the workforce benefitted from the services provided by this pioneering centre
* SEAT is strongly committed to the health of its workers and accident reduction
In 2018, SEAT’s CARS Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre performed more than 70,000 medical procedures, which is equivalent to 325 scheduled daily visits by workers, including consultations, diagnostic tests, preventive and recovery sessions and biomechanical tests. A total of 4,671 people, which is practically one third of the SEAT workforce, sought treatment in this second year of operation of the centre, which features one of a kind facilities in Spain that SEAT invested 3.3 million euros to put into operation.
CARS makes medical services including orthopaedics, cardiology, gynaecology, mental health, image diagnostics, physiotherapy, fitness and rehabilitation available to SEAT’s more than 15,000 employees. The centre also features a biomechanics lab, the largest and most advanced in-company facility of its kind in Spain, which is used both to define new workstations based on ergonomics, and to help make injury recovery more precise to facilitate return to work. After nearly two years in operation, CARS has become a benchmark in corporate medical services.
According to SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros, “CARS gives all the workers the opportunity to benefit from high quality in-house medical attention without waiting lists. Its wide popularity among the workforce shows us that our workers appreciate SEAT’s firm commitment to health”. Furthermore, Dr. Patricia Such, who is responsible for Occupational Health and Safety at SEAT, pointed out that “CARS figures show that after nearly two years of activity, this groundbreaking centre has become a true benchmark of corporate medical services”.
CARS, in figures
The most widely requested CARS services in 2018 were orthopaedics and physiotherapy. More specifically, 14,642 trauma procedures were performed, 41 of which resulted in surgery without a waiting list. 40,897 physiotherapy sessions were carried out by the team led by renowned physiotherapist Toni Bové, which amounts to a daily average of more than 190 rehabilitation sessions.
The image diagnostics service performed 4,075 ultrasounds, 1,123 x-rays, 516 mammograms and 266 platelet-rich plasma injections. Furthermore, the gynaecology professionals handled 1,145 consultations and detected 18 cases of premalignant lesions and three cases of early stage cancer with a favourable prognosis. SEAT is the only company in Spain which offers free, in-house, complete annual gynaecological check-ups to its more than 3,000 female workers. Thanks to early detection, treatment can begin immediately and lead to better results.
Moreover, cardiology, one of the most valued services by employees, detected 39 cases of pathology in the 1,248 visits made by the medical professionals last year. Finally, the mental health, psychology and psychiatry service scheduled 1,384 appointments. The goal of this service is to enhance the quality of life of workers by helping them deal with issues regardless of whether they are related to their personal of professional life.
In addition to medical care, CARS also makes special efforts in prevention. A clear example of this are the 897 Return to Work sessions which were carried out in 2018 in a move to get workers physically ready for work again following an injury. These sessions, together with the 575 scheduled at the Back School, the 2,760 monitored fitness classes by CARSfit, and the 566 tests performed in the biomechanics lab actively contributed to reducing the risk of injury in the workplace. In this regard, SEAT reduced the accident rate by 43% compared with 2017, which is a clear indication of the company’s commitment to the health of its workers.
CARS extends to the Volkswagen Group’s companies
In 2018, SEAT’s Corporate Health, Safety, Emergencies and Wellness services began integrating all the employees of the Volkswagen Group in Spain companies to its joint prevention service, which currently provides healthcare to nearly 17,800 people in Spain, representing 75% of the Group’s workforce in the country. This extension is taking place gradually and will cover the more than 23,000 strong workforce in the next years.