Bannatyne Group Tackles Wellness For Cancer

LONDON, United Kingdom — British Health Club operator Bannatyne Group has introduced specialist training for its spa therapists to enable them to offer treatments for clients affected by cancer.

The move highlights a new era for the wellness industry, in which a growing number of organisations are starting to cater to people suffering from illnesses rather than focusing on serving ‘well people’.

According to The Bannatyne Group, over recent years it has seen a rise in the number of clients recovering from cancer. The decision to train its therapists was made in order to provide them with greater insight into the mind and physical condition of these clients, and allow them to adapt their services accordingly.

“We already support Look Good Feel Better, a charity that helps female cancer sufferers to look and feel their best,” explained Karen Wilkinson, Group Head of Spa.

“But this training will allow us to take our spas to the next level and help clients approach recovery from a more holistic angle,” she added.

Having worked alongside Bannatyne to ensure its staff received the highest level of training, Julie Bach, Executive Director of Wellness for Cancer, a cancer-focused training organisation for the spa and wellbeing industry, applauds the gym and spa chain for wanting to step up and tackle the issue.

“We know that individuals are coming to spas in the UK and many are being turned away because of lack of knowledge by managers and therapists,” she explained.

“Bannatyne Spas will be our largest individual client within the United Kingdom and will be a global leader in showing other large-scale enterprises what is possible when we set our minds on our clients’ needs, and invest in staff to ensure that they are prepared.”

Chosen as one of the eight emerging trends set to impact the wellness industry in 2017 and beyond, the Global Wellness Institute suggests that by “embracing the ‘c-word’ a more inclusive model of wellness will shape a world where wellness pursuits are created equal for those who are well and those who have a disease.”

Within the report Bach, who also heads up a Wellness for Cancer initiative for the global organisation, adds that “companies embracing cancer sufferers are doing what the wellness industry does best: helping them reduce stress, and inner peace and increase emotional resiliency.”

Currently, Bannatyne Group is one of very few established wellness brands delivering this kind of service to clients who are living with cancer. But, with other pioneers including ESPA and Weight Watchers also starting to offer special services for those dealing with the disease, it won’t be long before more wellness businesses follow suit.

After all, with 40 percent of people suffering from the illness at one stage of their lives, its impact on global wellness and the consumption of wellness is getting harder to ignore.