Welcome to our March 2025 Bulletin
Read how Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust achieved Highly Commended in our OHPRAS with their Hub and Spoke OH Model, see the Network's consultation response to the delivery of...
We are dedicated to maintaining a healthy, motivated workforce
Dear Colleagues
As we get into the full swing of autumn, I’m sure you all are incredibly busy with the covid booster and winter flu vaccination campaigns. If you manage to find a few spare minutes, this month’s e-bulletin is packed full of useful information, and some great learning and development opportunities too.
NHS England have now launched Growing OH&WB Together – the five year strategy to grow and enhance our Services. I’m delighted that the Network have been a key stakeholder in this strategy, and we will continue to support many of the planned workstrands over the coming years. Thank you too for Members on their survey feedback around the Network – we will use this feedback to develop a further range of tailored resources and information to help you and your teams in their regular work. More information will be coming soon - watch this space!
Best wishes
Nicola Bullen
Joint-Deputy Chair, NHS Health at Work Network
In this edition:
1. Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing Together: Launched!
2. Network Member Survey Results
3. MSK Health Toolkit
4. New Professions Able to Issue Fit Notes
5. Self-Harm: Assessment, Management and Preventing Recurrence
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6. Free Short Courses for NHS OH&WB Colleagues
7. Employment Legislation and Case Law Update
8. HSE Health and Work Conference
9. The London Centre for Work and Health
10. Useful Resources
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1. Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing Together: Launched!
The Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing Together strategy provides a long-term roadmap to improve the health and wellbeing of our NHS people by growing our occupational health and wellbeing services and people to be trusted, strategic and integrated partners.
Supporting our NHS People Plan and People Promise of ‘we are safe and healthy’, it sets out a united vision and areas for action based on four strategic drivers that focus on growing our occupational health and wellbeing People, Services, Practice and Identity.
The strategy is now available to download on our new NHS Futures Growing OHWB collaborative platform: https://future.nhs.uk/GrowingOHWB
Our NHS Futures hub will evolve over time and more resources, information and practice will be added over the five years of implementing Growing OHWB. We encourage you to sign up, download the strategy, and keep visiting the Futures site as more resources are added.
NHS England are committed to collaboration being at the heart of Growing OHWB Together, so please get in touch with us by emailing the Growing OHWB mailbox: growing.ohwb@nhs.net
2. Network Member Survey Results
We recently asked members to complete a survey to find out your views of the Network. The survey results are available to Members here. We wanted to know what members think of the Network's services and offering, to better understands what works well and to also find out where we could improve what we offer. Feedback from members is really important to us as we want to make sure that the Network delivers the benefits and services that will most support you and your roles in Occupational Health. We had a 36% response rate and received lots of useful feedback.
Key points to note include:
- a large majority of respondents indicated that the Network providing a voice for Occupational Health is its most important activity/function
- a large majority of respondents agreed that the Network is an important channel for the exchange of information, expertise and ideas across Occupational Health in the NHS
- the monthly e-bulletin, the Annual Conference and the website were seen as being valuable to members
- 90% of members were satisfied or very satisfied with the value of their membership
With your feedback we plan to:
- redevelop part of our website to develop an updated and more comprehensive range of good practice policies, procedures, protocols and a variety of template documents
- work with NHS England to provide additional support to NHS OH teams seeking to attain accreditation to the national SEQOHS standards
- run some virtual regional events to elicit further direct feedback and suggestions to shape our future offering. Watch this space for more information and dates
Thank you to all members who took the time to complete this survey. With your feedback we will strive to make the Network as relevant and valuable as possible to best meet your needs.
3. MSK Health Toolkit
This toolkit sets out practical advice for employers and FE institutions to help adolescents and young people maintain good MSK health and help those with existing MSK conditions to thrive in their environment.
4. New Professions Able to Issue Fit Notes
New legislation to allow a wider range of healthcare professionals to certify fit notes has been introduced by the UK government. From 1 July 2022, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists are all able to legally certify fit notes in addition to doctors. This makes it easier to get advice certified by the most relevant healthcare professional.
The new legislation does not otherwise alter the purpose and function of the fit note, which will continue to support and empower better conversations about work and health between employers and workers. These professionals should be working within general practice or delivering NHS services as access to the new version of the fit note is limited to these settings.
Visit GOV.UK for the latest guidance on fit notes for employers and line managers.
HSE has further advice and guidance on managing sick leave and return to work.
5. Self-Harm: Assessment, Management and Preventing Recurrence
NICE has published evidence-based recommendations for assessment, management and preventing recurrence of self-harm. The guidance sets out the responsibilities of non-specialists when caring for people who self-harm. This includes health and social care professionals working in primary care, non-mental health emergency department professionals, those working in general hospital settings and in social care. There are also recommendations for paramedics and for people working in education and criminal justice settings
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG225
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6. Free Short Courses for NHS OH&WB Colleagues
In support of the Growing OH&WB Together strategy, NHS England is running a number of short courses for OH&WB Colleagues covering a number of themes:
These are all virtual 90-minute, interactive sessions and will be held throughout November and January. See the prospectus and book your place here
7. Employment Legislation & Case Law Update
Free Webinar: 17 Nov 2022 16.00 - 17.00: In this webinar Mark Landon will be looking at the recent case law lessons for HR and OH practitioners as well as reviewing both recently implemented new employment legislation and that which is on the horizon.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_klBu7_vnQOKqOsRn-UDBJg
8. HSE Health and Work Conference
15 November 2022, 9.00am - 3.15pm: This free, interactive, free all-day event will take place virtually and is part of our approach to inspire and promote better prevention, management and control of the common risks and causes of work-related ill-health across Great Britain.
Building on the success of last year’s conference, which saw huge demand, HSE has increased the capacity five-fold to provide 5,000 spaces for delegates.
At the conference HSE will unveil how it is supporting the government’s response to the Health is Everyone’s Business (HiEB) consultation, as well as discussions on topics including work-related stress and mental health, occupational health, musculoskeletal disorders, controlling radiation in the workplace and occupational lung disease.
Delegates at the event will see how health and work is evolving not just in response to the pandemic, but also around the actions we need to take collectively as employers, employees, regulators and others to prevent harm caused by work-related ill-health.
It will provide a unique opportunity for businesses, public and third sector organisations, health professionals and others to engage directly with our regulatory inspectors, scientists and health topic specialists, as well as hear from our Chief Executive.
You’ll learn about present and emerging issues around a number of health and work areas which are on our conference agenda.
The agenda is live on the HSE website outlining the learning opportunities and the presenters with which you can engage with, ask questions and share your views.
Spaces are limited, so register your place at the Health and Work Conference 2022 now.
9. London Centre for Work and Health
The London Centre for Work and Health has launched. It is a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College London (KCL), University College London and Imperial College London (ICL). It aims to promote healthy participation in work for all. The centre will bring together researchers and scientists from different specialties, including: occupational and respiratory medicine; occupational psychiatry and psychology; epidemiology and biostatistics; sociology; policy analysis and health economics. The centre is led by Professor Ira Madan from KCL and Professor Paul Cullinan from ICL.
10. Useful Resources
HSE defines work-related violence as any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. This can include verbal abuse or threats, as well as physical attacks. The HSE website has a toolkit to help reduce the risk of work-related violence in licensed or retail premises.
The toolkit has links to useful resources and features practical advice on:
Act now to protect your workers from fatal lung disease: The HSE has started a targeted health initiative inspecting manufacturing businesses across England, Wales and Scotland. The inspections focus on the respiratory risks of respirable crystalline silica (RCS), a natural substance found in most stone, rocks, sand and clay, and in products such as bricks and concrete.
HSE inspectors are visiting manufacturing business where materials such as stone, rocks, sand and clay are used. This includes:
Conference: NHSCHECK, the largest UK survey of the mental health of all NHS staff(clinical & non-clinical),are hosting their first conference based on their findings since the beginning of COVID on December 5that The Great Hall, Kings College London.
‘The impact of COVID on the mental health of NHS staff: Impact, Inequality and Moral Injury’ will be discussing NHS CHECK findings as well as other comparative studies, hear from the NHS themselves on the impact the research has had, and invite conversation with industry leaders and influencers.
Further information and tickets are here: https://nhscheck.org/events/
NHS Employer’s – The rising cost of living – resource pack is available here
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The NHS Health at Work Network brings together all OH teams providing health and wellbeing services to NHS OH staff. It is dedicated to providing consistent, high quality health at work services to all NHS staff through collaborative working.
Members of OH teams in NHS Health at Work Network member organisations can receive the bulletin and access the restricted areas of the website as a membership benefit – if you are not sure of your login details email admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk
Please share this bulletin with colleagues and encourage them to register to receive it regularly. Non-Network members can also register to receive the monthly bulletin here.
You can contact the Network through your regional representative or as shown below. Please get in touch if you have any queries or comments, if there is anything you would like to see in future issues of the bulletin, or if you have news to share.
Hilary Winch, Chair hilary.winch@nnuh.nhs.uk
Andrew Gilbey, General Manager admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk
Postal address: NHS Health at Work, PO Box 857, York YO31 6FR
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