The Role of the Health and Safety Practitioner in Workplace Health and Wellbeing

1
The Role of the Health and Safety Practitioner in
Workplace Health and Wellbeing

• Professor Neil Budworth
• Corporate Health and Safety Manager E.ON UK

2

• The current problem
• Whats happening to address it
• What does this mean to us ?
• The role we can play and what is happening now

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
864 Million
6
The Cost to the UK of Health Related Worklessness
100 Billion
7
Every week - Forever
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
Cost To the UK

• 2 Million people suffer from work related ill
  health
• 2.65 Million people claim incapacity benefit
• 40 Million working days lost each year

600,000 People start to claim incapacity benefit
every year half of these come from employment
11
Why this Growth ?
12
The Current Problem Occupational Health Resources

• There are -
• 1,500 Occupational Physicians
• 2,195 Members of the Society of Occupational
  Health Nurses

BUT 34,000 members of IOSH 100,000 NEBOSH
Certificate holders
13
The Current Problem The Role of the GP

• Average appointment time 7 minutes
• Available options Sick note or no sick note
• Knowledge of the working environment / activity
• Ability to access suitable therapies

Recorded Reasons for Absence - None - TaTT
14

• Musculo Skeletal Disorders
• Back pain affects all industries, not just a few
  high-risk sectors.
• In 2003/04 an estimated 4.9 million working days
  (full day equivalent) were lost due to back
  pain caused or made worse by work.
• There are in the region of 330 000 claiming
  Incapacity Benefit due to MSDs

• Mental Health
• Approximately one third of working days lost due
  to work related ill-health or injury are due
  to stress, depression or anxiety.
• 40 of the overall Incapacity Benefit caseload
  is due to mental health an increase of 12
  since 1997

15

• These problems are not medically severe
• Most of us experience at least one of them at
  times
• Usually there is no serious disease or lasting
  harm
• Most episodes settle quickly, even if
  symptoms may recur
• Most people with these problems could remain
  at work or soon return

Why then do so many people become long-term
disabled?
16

• There is no good medical explanation
• Often something has gone badly wrong with the
  way theyre handled
• The longer people are off work, the less
  likely they are to get back, ever

17
No Early Intervention - EG Back Pain no
expert work advice no access to OH
professionals no access to rehabilitation no
quick therapy options no rapid referral
options Varied understanding of health and work
18
Chances of Return to Work Following Long Term
Absence
At 3 Months 75- 90 At 6 Months 50 -60 At 9
Months 25 30 Over 1 year lt 10
At 2 years the individual is more likely to
retire or die than return to work
19
What is Being Done About the Problem ?

• Dame Carol Blacks Review
• The Government Response

20
The Black report

• Supporting the health of working age people
  requires the co-ordination and integration of a
  range of professional disciplines
• A new Fitness for Work pilot scheme drawing on
  the biopsychosocial model, to provide OH support
  under the NHS banner, should be considered
• Services which range from physiotherapy to
  counselling on matters such as debt and personal
  relationships should be included
• The business case for wellness programmes in the
  UK needs developing
• Demographic, societal and economic factors
  increasingly underpin wellness programmes in many
  leading UK employers

21
The Government Response

• Creating new perspectives on health and work
• Electronic fit note
• A National Education Programme for GPs
• Health, Work and Wellbeing Co-ordinators
• National Centre for Working-Age Health and
  Well-being
• Improving work and workplaces
• The Business HealthCheck tool
• National Strategy for Mental Health and
  Employment
• Further NHS Plus development
• Occupational health helpline for smaller
  businesses
• A challenge fund
• A review of the health and well-being of the NHS
  workforce
• Supporting people to work
• Piloting early intervention services
• Access to Work

22
We Need to Change the Way We Think !
23
What is needed to solve this problem in business ?

• Educated managers
• Supportive employers
• Early identification of issues
• Early referral for support
• Early treatment
• Support for re integration into the workplace

24
What Are Your Views of Occupational Health ?
WRONG !
25
More Likely - This
26
What Are Your Views of Health and Safety?
27

• From
• Manufacturing
• Machinery
• Inspections
• PPE
• Clipboards
• Policemen
• Men

• To
• Graduates
• All workplaces
• Facilitators
• Key performance indicators
• Management systems
• Cars
• Non traditional risks stress
• Research / Evidence led
• Health and Safety Directors

28
Would You Tolerate This ?
29
The role we can play and what is happening now
30
An Aunt Sally - Consider Back Pain ?
Frequency of Contact

• Safety Professionals
• Daily / Weekly

• Occupational Health Nurses
• Monthly / Yearly

• Occupational Physicians
• When required

Long Term Chronic Complex Case
Easy Simple fix
Complexity of problem
31
Where do we fit in ? - Consider Back Pain ?
Frequency of Contact

• Safety Professionals
• Daily / Weekly

• Occupational Health Nurses
• Monthly / Yearly

• Occupational Physicians
• When required

Complex Chronic Cases, Very specialist medical
support required
More complex Cases, specialist Support / Case
Management
Early Identification Simple fix Rapid referral
Long Term Chronic Complex Case
Complexity of problem
32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
(No Transcript)
36
(No Transcript)
37
(No Transcript)
38
(No Transcript)
39
(No Transcript)
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
Occupational Health Toolkit

• Bringing best practice together in one place
• Responding to government agenda
• Helping us to play our part

43
(No Transcript)
44
(No Transcript)
45
(No Transcript)
46
Summary

• There is an epidemic of work related ill health
• Dominated by Musculoskeletal disorders and mild
  to moderate mental health issues
• Massive cost both to individuals and to the UK
• Early informed intervention is critical to
  stopping this epidemic
• Safety and Health practitioners are ideally
  placed to make a difference
• Pilot work is underway with IOSH and DWP to see
  what we can do
• We have to embrace change and do things
  differently

47
(No Transcript)
48
Thank you Questions ?