SOM roundtable: Sleep and the workplace – November 2019 Sleep and fatigue in the workplace The discussion was opened by Dr Karen Robertson. Dr Robertson pointed out that, although raising awareness of the need for an adequate amount of sleep is key, it should be acknowledged that not everyone…
Guest blog by John Harrison, Senior Medical Advisor, National Police Wellbeing Service The launch of a new National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) in April 2019 [1] marked a significant milestone in the development of the understanding of the approach to police welfare. Historically, support has…
By Lesley Kezhu Wang There are many issues with menopause at work - negatively impacting the wellbeing of female employees and productivity - action must be taken. Speakers included Carolyn Harris MP, Rachel Maclean MP, Janet Trowse from Network Rail, Rachel Suff, Employment Relations Policy Advisor…
Guest blog by Dr Paul J Nicholson OBE, Chair, APPG Report Writing Committee Throughout this decade our professional bodies have repeatedly expressed concern at the falling numbers of occupational medicine specialists. In 2006, the number of OM trainees peaked at 154 (compared with 129 in 2000). The…
Guest blog by Dr Lisa Curran All over the UK, medical graduates start their first hospital post on the 7th August 2019. What an important day this is. 23 years ago, I was there too. August 1996 to February 1997, I was Medical House Officer for Dr Gallen at Wycombe General Hospital. February 1997 to…
Guest blog by Dr Drushca Lalloo, lead author of The Value of Occupational Health Research report As a follow-on from the Society of Occupational Medicine’s (SOM) 2017 report Occupational health: the value proposition and its 2018 report Occupational Health: The Global Evidence and Value, a new…
Guest blog by Francesca Langton Kendall, Workplace Wellbeing Consultant, Making Moves. Over the past five years awareness of the importance of health and wellbeing has grown rapidly as a primary concern in the design and operation of the office environment. The case for wellness needs to be…
Guest blog by Tom Buckland, Head of Content at Inspire Me Almost everyone who has ever had a job will have a story of a terrible boss, an office screaming match or a woeful tale of stolen credit and fractured teams – but recent research shows that it is not necessary to tough out that difficult boss…
Guest blog by Dr Nick Jenkins, Senior DVLA Doctor Around 48 million people hold a GB driving licence and individuals depend greatly upon their ability to drive for their employment, their day to day lives and socially. There can, however, be confusion amongst clinicians as to the respective roles…
Guest blog by Deborah Garlick Menopause is nothing new. Indeed, it’s a natural part of a woman’s life as she transitions from one phase to the next and her balance of hormones changes. But what is new – thankfully – is the increasing focus that many employers are placing on menopause in the…
Guest blog by Martin Short, Head of Wellbeing, Diversity and Inclusion. MoD Business Unit In July 2018, following an 18-month secondment to the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, I returned to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to design a wellbeing programme for a large MoD business unit of some 5000…
Guest blog by Dr Kathleen Lin, Occupational Health Specialist Registrar, King’s College Hospital I am now two months into my specialist registrar training in Occupational Medicine. I often get asked about how and why I decided that I wanted to pursue my career in this specialty, and I would like to…