Guest blog by Lisa Davies, Registered Nutritionist & Postgraduate Dietetic student, KCL Shift work is a significant public health concern, affecting 14% of the UK working population (over 4 million people). It is associated with long-term health risks, with evidence showing that night-shift or…
Guest blog by Dr Georges Petitjean “We don’t have employees using drugs or alcohol in our organisation”, the HR Director of a major City firm told me, almost 10 years ago. Six months ago, a CEO said, “We never set up drug testing on purpose, because if employees need time off to get treatment for…
In this blog, Dr Natalie Nobar shares her career journey and why she believes working in the sector can make such a powerful impact. What was it about occupational health that interested you? I think the phrase “good work is good for your health” is absolutely true. I was working as a GP in a…
Guest blog by Dr Lara Shemtob I connected with Kim Baudek (pictured below), senior OH strategy leader and occupational health nurse by background. Kim spent decades at the helm managing workforce health at the nexus of the US’s most critical industries: covering nuclear, national gas and electricity…
Guest blog by Dr Lara Shemtob The Keep Britain Working Review Final Report has been published. The report outlines the direction of travel the government will be asking the country to take, in order to stop and reverse the rising rates of economic inactivity due to ill health in working age adults…
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By Nick Pahl, Chief Executive, SOM “HR doesn’t understand us!” How often have we heard occupational health (OH) colleagues say this, but it is not always the case. There is a local authority where the HR team has embraced OH as a key partner when employees are taken through a disciplinary process…
By Amanda Hinkley, Chair of the Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing (FOHN) I had the opportunity to present on the FOHN Accreditation and Competency Framework, which generated interest among delegates. In Ireland, the recently launched Nursing Registration Framework is designed for general nurses…
Guest blog by Liz Kendall Having spent most of my career in law and healthcare, one phrase stands out as being pervasive in both contexts – early intervention. I advocate for the importance of early-stage health and wellbeing services for staff and its obvious benefits. Switching back to working in…
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By Rose Wood, SOM International Coordinator 100 million people work in the informal mining sector worldwide, using basic tools to extract minerals and metals, often without proper equipment. There is little separation between living and working areas, miners and their families are exposed to…
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By Rose Wood, SOM International Coordinator A core part of this new partnership is delivering training that equips Health and Safety Officers (HSOs) in Public Health facilities across four regions in Ethiopia with essential skills and knowledge in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Two of the…
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By Amy McKeown, Workplace Health Strategy Consultant When Britain’s suffragettes campaigned for the vote in the early 1900s, women in allied labour movements were also pressing for safer, fairer workplaces; shorter hours in the mills and protections against the industrial hazards that damaged so…
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By Amy McKeown, Workplace Health Strategy Consultant When the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) began in 1935 (then known as the Association of Industrial Medical Officers), Britain was powered by mills, mines, and shipyards. Coal dust coated lungs, machinery mangled hands and long shifts were…