A private health scheme is paying handsome dividends for Thames Valley Police.

Sick and injured officers and civilians are returning to work more quickly and the force is saving millions of pounds.

The scheme was launched in March 2000 to provide staff with fast-track medical treatment and get them back on the beat and behind their desks as quickly as possible.

In the first year, 225 staff were treated, saving the force an estimated £2.6m in sickness payments and lost work time.

Figures for the first eight months of the current financial year show 164 staff -- 137 officers and 27 civilians -- have taken advantage of the scheme, with a potential saving to the force of up to £1.9m.

The most common injuries suffered by officers are to knees and back.

Thames Valley Police Authority puts aside £300,000 a year to pay for the scheme. The Chief Constable, Sir Charles Pollard, said the force had spent £162,534 in medical fees in this year and was seeing real benefits.

He said that if the 164 sick and injured workers had waited for appointments, investigations and surgery on the NHS, thousands of days would have been lost.

Similar savings had been made the previous year, he said.

Force spokesman Paul Anthem said the scheme was proving successful, allowing employees to return to duty more quickly.

He said: "The money invested can be put into true context when you look at the waiting times that are cut and savings made."

All police officers and civilian staff off sick, or on restricted duties and facing a long delay because of NHS waiting times, are eligible to be considered for private treatment.

The scheme is being cited as a major reason why sickness levels among officers and civilians are continuing to decrease.

In the 12 months to September 2001, officers were off sick for an average of 13 days, compared with 14.2 the year before. The figure for civilian staff dropped from 12.4 to 10.2.

Medical retirements among officers between December 2000 and November 2001 also fell from 21 the previous year to 16.