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Nurses’ step-counts: they can add up to walking a marathon a week

Survey of front-line health and emergency workers found nurses among those covering the longest distance – but healthcare assistants go even further 
Steps app viewed on a mobile phone

Survey of front-line health and emergency workers found nurses among those covering the longest distance – but healthcare assistants go even further

Steps app viewed on a mobile phone
Picture: iStock

Front-line nurses could be covering the distance of a marathon every week with step-counts hitting 12,000 per shift, a survey suggests.

It found nurses were among the UK health and emergency staff who walk the farthest in the course of their work.

Step counts of nurses and healthcare assistants

The survey of 472 front-line workers found the nurses participating walked an average of 59,657 steps a week at work – about the equivalent of 26.25 miles. But healthcare assistants may be walking even further – up to 70,000 steps in a week.

Tom Dalby, chief executive of Blue Light Card, which commissioned the survey, said the staggering amount of steps showed how far front-line workers go ‘mentally and physically’ every day.

‘Front-line workers often work longer shifts than the average office worker. This study really highlights all their tireless efforts,’ he said.


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