How can occupational health improve your practice?

An excellent occupational health service can help the NHS become more productive, reduce sickness absence and save money

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on NHS Employers

For occupational health (OH) to have the greatest impact on an organisation it should work in partnership with key stakeholders including, for example, human resources, health and safety and, more crucially, managers who need to be aware what services OH can provide and to feel able to approach and access them for support and advice when this is needed.

OH is a specialist branch of medicine focusing on the health of staff in the workplace. OH professionals aim to find out what impact work has on staff health and make sure that staff are fit to undertake the role they are employed to do, both physically and emotionally. OH specialists can support organisations through advising on work-related illnesses and accidents, carrying out assessments for both new starters and existing employees, monitoring the health of employees and advising on prevention. 

OH services are also used to assist organisations in managing both short and long-term absence situations; the opinion of an OH specialist may be crucial in determining how to manage a capability issue, and can provide key evidence in an employment tribunal claim. OH, typically, advises staff and their managers on what adjustments can be made to enable staff to undertake their roles safely and effectively, wherever possible, focusing on adapting the work to suit the health needs of the staff member.

What services does occupational health provide?

They provide a range of services designed specifically to meet the needs of each NHS organisation. Many of these services are proactive, aimed at keeping staff well and at work and not just about supporting staff when they are ill. Occupational health activities are likely to include:

• ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations – and helping maintain a healthy workforce;
• offering pre-employment health assessments;
• preventing and removing health risks arising in the workplace and advising on ergonomic issues and workplace design;
• providing screening and surveillance services in the initial stages of ill health, and developing solutions to keep staff with health issues at work;
• providing independent and professional diagnosis, prognosis and advice on staff unable to work due to long-term or short-term intermittent health problems, and organisation-wide steps to reduce sickness absence;
• lifestyle, health promotion and wellbeing services which will help to increase productivity and improve staff retention.

Having a workplace OH service gives staff and managers rapid access to professional specialist advice which will help protect, maintain and support staff with health issues in the workplace. OH has the advantage of being able to work closely with the manager to understand the complexities of roles within NHS organisations and can, therefore, suggest tailored adjustments and support which someone without that knowledge and understanding might not be able to offer.

Realigning occupational health services

Dame Carol Black’s report Working for a Healthier Tomorrow identified an expanded role for OH. It saw a need to re-configure OH services to address challenges, including uneven provision, inconsistent quality and a diminishing workforce.

All NHS OH services should be accredited to the SEQOHS standards and specifically written for an HR audience. OH guidance works towards ensuring that NHS staff andorganisations have an OH service which improves health and wellbeing and provides a proactive service. NHS Health at Work has published a template service level agreement, which is currently being updated, for OH services to use with their providers.

The government has already published Healthy Staff, Better Care for Patients: Realignment of Occupational Health Services to the NHS in England. This guidance sets out recommendations aimed at helping to achieve the vision that suppliers of OH services to the NHS should play a key role in the delivery of safe, effective and efficient patient care through the promotion and protection of the health of staff. 

Alongside this, the Department of Health and Social Care’s document supports the commissioning of OH services, and provides support and direction for commissioners and providers to establish OH departments that deliver services which meet the full breadth of NHS staff health and wellbeing needs.

The NHS Growing occupational health and wellbeing (OHWB) together is a five-year strategy to improve health and wellbeing services for NHS people, keeping them safe, healthy and empowered to pass good care onto our patients. This strategy now forms a mandate for action for integrated care systems and NHS organisations as part of whole system workforce planning, demonstrating the importance placed on looking after the health and wellbeing of our NHS people in the workplace.