Blogs

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week by Helena Brady, Senior Occupational Health Advisor The annual International Nurses' Day has recently been celebrated and it would be remiss to not acknowledge the pioneering work of our forefather and founder of our profession, Florence Nightingale…

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week by Dr E Sarah L Porter, Occupational Physician and Chair of SOM Northern Ireland Group Like physical health, mental health moves up and down a spectrum from good to poor. Given the amount of time spent at work, it’s not surprising that work…

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week by John Drew, Director of Staff Experience and Engagement, NHS England and NHS Improvement Launching our NHS Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing (GOHWB) Together strategy as part of OH Awareness Week is a significant step forward in advancing…

Guest blog for Occupational Health Awareness Week by Karen Mills, Director of Zen Occupational Health Ltd. I qualified as an RGN In 1990 and worked in various roles, leaving the NHS as a ward manager in 2007. I began working in occupational health (OH) at my local council in 2007; I worked on the…

Top 10 tips for meeting drug and alcohol legal requirements for happy and healthy workplaces by Toxicology Consultant Helen Vangikar: Create the policy in collaboration with key stakeholders. Review the drug and alcohol/substance misuse policy on a regular basis such as every 2 years. Consult…

Mental health remains the leading cause of sickness absence, with an estimated 70 million work days lost annually due to mental health problems in the UK, costing employers approximately £2.4 billion per year*. The pandemic has accentuated the problem - with more employees experiencing mental health…

Guest blog by Marisa Dissanayake 65% of employees at the average company are suffering some level of work-related back pain, neck pain or other musculoskeletal (MSK) issue. A recent study revealed that nearly one million complaints of back pain were made on Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr and online forums…

Guest blog by Dan Williams Losing my eyesight was challenging, scary and disconcerting and having to change the way I do things, adapt to new challenges, and learn new skills was exhausting. One of the most difficult aspects was uncertainty around employment. It was hard to tell somebody at work…

Guest blog by Maddie Wrench, Communications Manager at The Liminal Space Learning about our own sleep health can be the first step towards a better, healthier working experience. Minoritised communities have been hit by the pandemic even harder than most, with new studies showing a ten percent…

Top ten tips for avoiding legal problems in happy and healthy workplaces from legal expert Professor Diana Kloss MBE: Perform/update risk assessments for both physical and mental health, consulting HSE guidance. Appoint a board member with responsibility for health and safety and a board member with…

Guest blog by Air Commodore David McLoughlin OBE QHS MStJ, SOM Past President During my three years on the SOM Board, a key challenge was determining the future direction of the organisation and reviewing its strategy. Setting the future strategy for an organisation is what leaders have to do (…

Guest blog by Dr Yvette Martyn, Occupational Health Physician at Medigold Health 18 months on from the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic, the vaccination programme is in full swing. The emphasis has shifted from a need to protect workers from contracting COVID-19 to supporting employees…