Latest news with #Bupa
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Sitting down for dinner? Make room for three screens! Brit families are relying on iPads and phones to get through meal times, study reveals
The modern family dinner is, it seems, a hive of communication – just not with each other. There are now an average of three devices being used at mealtimes, according to a study. Nearly two thirds of children are watching TV at the dinner table, while 42 per cent are scrolling on TikTok and 27 per cent are using Snapchat. Some 83 per cent of the 2,000 parents surveyed by Bupa said they'd like to ban screens at mealtimes but just 13 per cent have done so. However, 64 per cent of mums and dads admitted to using WhatsApp or texting at the dinner table while 30 per cent were looking at online shopping. Seventy per cent admit to using screens as a crutch to get them through mealtimes, with 63 percent of kids watching children's TV, 39 percent regularly looking at YouTube or cartoons - and 16 percent playing games or looking at TikTok on a phone or tablet. But 52 per cent of parents feel more conversations over dinner would be good for everyone's mental health - and 21 percent wish their children would talk to them about their feelings over mealtimes. And the report shows as many as one in ten (12 percent) parents feel the summer holidays make it even harder to have real conversations, especially at the dinner table, while 80 percent would love to talk more with their family about everyone's days. Bupa has launched new colouring-in tablemats designed to encourage mindfulness and spark conversations around mental health. Dr Elizabeth Rogers, associate clinical director at BupaHealth Clinics, said, 'It's clear from the research that parents really want to help their children open up and chat to them about their mental health and wellbeing, and sometimes it's hard to get away from screens to have those conversations. 'Whether you're eating at the dinner table or on laps in the living room, being together at mealtimes is a great opportunity to make space for conversations about your family's mental health.' Over a third (36 percent) wish they could sit down to eat together with the family more often, as they believe that nothing beats a family dinner (29 percent) and eating together is a good time to talk (28 percent). Harry Judd is an ambassador for Bupa's family mental health campaign, The Bupa Table, which encourages real families to put it all on the table and have a chance to open up and support each other through honest conversations. Harry said, 'As a parent I know the challenges of initiating those conversations about mental health and recognise that there isn't a one size fits all solution to getting someone talk about their struggles. 'No one should ever feel like they have to suffer in silence, which is why it's vital for me and my family to create that supportive space, helping my kids to understand that there is always time for us to talk, listen and check in with how everyone is feeling. It's about being present and making sure they know they can come to me whenever they're ready. 'Mindfulness is something my family practice regularly, it's important to remember that it's just as essential for children as for adults. 'Bupa's new tablemats are a great way to weave mindfulness and open conversations into our day-to-day, like at mealtimes, showing kids that their thoughts and feelings matter and that speaking about our emotional well-being is a natural part of everyday life.' The tablemats and accompanying conversation prompts can be printed at home at
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The 5 Best Pilates Exercises To Strengthen A 'Runner's Knee'
I love running, but I'll be honest; I've been off for the past week with a terrible runner's knee. I know that engaging in strength training can help to prevent the niggles and aches associated with jogging, and trying some squats and lunges really has been useful. However, according to Helen O'Leary, a physiotherapist at Complete Pilates, there are some pilates-based moves I should try in addition to my current routine. 'The expert advice from clinical practice guidelines on patellofemoral pain strongly recommends exercise therapy that includes a combination of hip and knee targeted exercise to reduce pain and improve patient-reported outcomes in the short, medium and long term,' she said. 'Hip abductor strengthening exercise is recommended for runners with ITB compression syndrome for reducing pain and improving function,' she added. With that in mind, here are her five top pilates-based runner's knees recovery movies: As Bupa said, performing a bridge can strengthen your knee by stabilising your hips and glutes. O'Leary stated you can complete the move with the following steps: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your heels elevated on a bench, pressing down into your heels to lift your bottom up off the mat. Articulate the spine one piece at a time as you roll your hips up. Pause at the top, then roll one piece at a time back down to connect to the mat. Designed to strengthen your outer hips, thighs, and glutes, the move can increase all-important balance while you're running. Per O'Leary, this is how it's done: Lie on your side with your head supported and legs straight. Lift your top leg with its foot flexed up to the sky and lower it down. Repeat. Runna explained that this move benefits your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calves – all of which are 'vital for running to allow you to transfer power down and into your stride.' Here's how it's done: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms down by your side, holding a dumbbell in each hand. Sit your hip bones down and back into a squat. As you rise up to stand, continue to rise up onto the balls of your feet. Lower your heels back down. Repeat. Healthline said that donkey kicks can 'target the glutes in a way many other exercises can't,' which in turn improves your hip stability and decreases knee pain. These can be done, O'Leary shared, in these four stages: On all fours with hands under shoulders, with your knees underneath your hips, raise and bend one knee's heel towards your bottom and flex the foot. Keeping your weight spread between your opposite leg's hands, start to lift your working leg's heel up towards the sky, keeping the hip and knee bent, then lower back down to the start position. These aim to strengthen the knee directly. To do them: Stand in a split stance with both knees bent and a loop resistance band above both knees. Keep your front knee bent and still while raising the back leg heel off the ground. Ensure your arms are holding onto a wall in front for stability. Keeping this start position, begin to straighten the back knee against the resistance band, maintaining the heel lift. Release, bending the knee. Repeat. O'Leary explained that common causes of a runner's knee include not sticking to a warm-up routine and jogging on hilly terrain. She also says we should 'optimise rest and recovery.' After all, she says, 'Load management is key.' Speak to a physiotherapist if you're concerned about your running form or knee pain, and visit your GP if the pain lasts for more than a few weeks. I Tried The 'Balloon Method' And My Running Form Has Never Been Better I Tried 'Plogging,' The Eco-Friendly Running Trend – And I'll Never Do It Again I Ditched This Fitness Class – And My Running Suffered
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Tamaiti Williams on anxiety, and fatherhood
All Black Tamaiti Williams is in recovery mode after having surgery to fix a meniscus injury at the end Super Rugby season. The tighthead prop played a leading role for the Canterbury Crusaders in a final that saw the black-and-reds return to Super Rugby supremacy after a disappointing 2024. While he rehabs his knee, Williams and other rugby stars are opening up on their physical and mental health challenges, as part of a campaign by All Blacks' partner, Bupa. Tamaiti Williams speaks of his experience of anxiety, particularly with the premature birth of his now 15-month-old daughter, Kaea. Tamaiti's partner Alice Weir had a difficult pregnancy with pre-eclampsia. Kaea was born 3 months early - and then had a long period of hospital stays. New Zealand's Tamaiti Williams reacts after South Africa won the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final. Photo: AFP / MIGUEL MEDINA
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Bupa accused of 'unscrupulous behaviour'
Health insurer Bupa has been accused of ongoing unscrupulous behaviour towards its customers as more patients come forward with concerns about the industry giant. It comes amid action by the competition watchdog for its rejection of thousands of claims in their entirety when patients were partially covered. The ABC has been contacted by patients around the country with concerns legitimate claims were denied, poor communication with patients and problematic billing practices with day hospitals.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Bupa customers voice frustrations over denied health insurance claims
Health insurer Bupa has been accused of ongoing unscrupulous behaviour towards its customers amid legal action by the competition watchdog. ABC News has been contacted by patients and medical practices from around the country concerned legitimate claims were denied. Concerns were also raised about poor communication with patients, problematic billing practices, and lack of education among Bupa staff. Earlier this week, the health insurer was fined $35 million by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for unlawfully rejecting thousands of claims between May 2018 and August 2023. Bupa rejected claims in full when only part of a procedure was not covered. The insurer admitted to engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. But Brisbane woman Tara Manning says she believes poor conduct has not stopped after she experienced difficulty with a claim in April 2025 — about 18 months after the period dealt with by the ACCC. She said Bupa tried to reject a claim for laparoscopic surgery to investigate possible ovarian cancer when she went through the pre-surgery eligibility check. The mother-of-two had bronze-level cover that included cover for gynaecological surgery. But because one part of the procedure was deemed "digestive" by the insurer and the government, the claim was initially rejected in full. Facing a $14,000 bill, Ms Manning spent weeks calling and messaging BUPA ahead of her surgery and only had her claim approved hours after she submitted a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. "It was an incredibly stressful time trying to get a hold of Bupa with wait times on the phone over an hour," she said. "I was told very mixed opinions throughout the whole process. Bupa said it could not comment on individual cases. It said the ACCC case related to errors that occurred because of inaccurate or unclear instructions, training or guidance which meant Bupa did not always make correct assessments of these claims and eligibility checks or act quickly enough to fix these issues. "We are deeply sorry for our failure to get this right in these instances. We know this isn't good enough and we're committed to doing better." Plastic surgery clinics also said their bronze cover patients were repeatedly having problems with Bupa when it came to skin cancer removals. When patients needed a cancer surgically removed, they sometimes required a small skin graft or flap to cover the wound which Bupa deemed to be plastic surgery. Plastic surgery was only covered under silver policies, leaving patients with out-of-pocket expenses of up to $4,500. Jane Griffiths, chief executive officer of peak group Day Hospitals Australia, said private health legislation stated that plastic surgery related to skin surgery was, in fact, covered at bronze level. She said their members regularly experienced this from Bupa. "You can't leave a patient without a closed skin lesion," she said. Do you have a story to share? Email Bupa said this was an industry-wide problem to do with automated billing and patients needed manual overrides. It was raised with the federal government in 2021 but recommendations for reform were yet to be implemented. In response, medical practices told ABC News other insurers had better processes to override the problem, whereas poorly trained Bupa staff would meet requests for overrides with "a blanket no" and the inability to escalate the issue. Many patients were also unaware of the issue and simply paid the gap, the medical practices said. "We are working with hospitals and medical practices to make this process smoother," a Bupa spokesperson said. Bupa also refused to cover more than one surgical billing item a day, while other insurers would cover two or three, Ms Griffiths said. This could be a problem for several types of procedures, including ophthalmology and chemotherapy which involved more than one element, and especially for skin cancers. "If the patient needs to be covered for [multiple cancers], you would have to keep bringing the patient in multiple times which of course is not desirable for the patient or for the surgeon," Ms Griffiths said. Bupa said different health insurers took different approaches to funding same-day procedures. Bupa is Australia's second largest private health insurer. Figures from the Commonwealth Ombudsman show 2024 complaint numbers were largely in proportion to its market share. Queensland man David Anderson said he was left with a $48,000 bill for triple bypass heart surgery in 2022 after Bupa denied his claim. He said the insurer delved into his medical records and discovered what it deemed a "sign" of heart disease and claimed it was a pre-existing condition. That was despite three of his treating doctors signing statutory declarations that he was symptom-free prior to taking out the policy. "I had climbed a mountain in Canada two months prior to diagnosis," he said. Bupa declined to comment on individual cases but said under law those with pre-existing conditions were not covered even if it was discovered after a policy was taken out and the patient was symptom-free. "What private health insurers can cover is limited by private health insurance legislation." Bupa's market power makes it hard for small operators Ms Griffiths said day hospital operators had a lot of difficulties with Bupa compared to other insurers and "to some extent" they were abusing their market power. She said Bupa was difficult to deal with in negotiations for their contracts with private hospitals. "From the feedback I've had from members, a lot of them have difficulty — particularly very small, specialised units," she said. "They have difficulty negotiating a reasonable indexation at the end of each contract." Bupa said its main aim was a sustainable network across Australia. "Bupa has an extensive private hospital network, and our relationships and commercial arrangements with hospital operators are both fair and equitable. "Bupa is working closely with our hospital provider partners reach agreements that balance the needs of hospitals, while keeping health insurance affordable for our customers." The company said it processed about six million hospital and medical claims each year and the overwhelming majority are assessed and paid without issue.
