The At Work Partnership and the Occupational Health [at Work] journal are delighted to send you our May 2012 occupational health e-mail newsletter, highlighting key OH news.
We do hope you enjoy reading it!
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Government rejects flexible working
Reform of the tribunal system and transferable parent leave were announced in the Queen’s speech. The government also plans to cut back on workplace inspections. However, there was no mention of extending the right to request flexible working, something that the campaigners had wanted to see after research by the CIPD showed that the current arrangements have caused few problems for employers. Just 4% of employers have had difficulties complying with the current right to request flexible working since it was introduced nearly 10 years ago.
www.cipd.co.uk
H&S at work risk falls
The findings of the latest survey of occupational health in the EU reveal that almost a quarter of workers believe their health and safety is under threat because of their work, compared with one third in 2000. However, exposure to ‘traditional’ physical risks, such as noise, vibrations, exposure to chemicals and dust or smoke, remains a major workplace problem. Since 1991, when the survey started, the percentage of workers exposed to these risks has risen.
www.eurofound.europa.eu
Back pain in the NHS
The results of round two of the national clinical audit of OH management of back pain among NHS staff have been published by the Royal College of Physicians and the FOM. It finds some overall improvement, but says OH staff need to be better at screening for markers of serious spinal pathology (‘red flags’) and for psychosocial risk factors for chronicity and disability (‘yellow flags’), and in providing patients with relevant information.
www.rcplondon.ac.uk
OH record keeping
An audit of record keeping standards in OH care in the NHS in England finds that, while electronic records are generally more legible than paper records, the latter are less vulnerable to unauthorised alteration. According to the results of the audit, only 0.4% of paper consultation notes could be erased compared to 34% of electronic records, though most computer-based systems restrict the right to edit records.
www.rcplondon.ac.uk
Bosses put back Directive
Nine EU employers’ associations, including the European Buildings Federation, whose members include the UK Federation of Master Builders, have written to the European Commission opposing plans for EU-wide legislation on work-related musculoskeletal disorders. They say the proposals are ‘neither necessary nor desirable’. The planned Directive has been under discussion since 2000, and an initial draft was published in 2010. The official proposed Directive is due in June.
www.eurocommerce.be
Safety and health Olympic record
The construction phase of the London 2012 Olympic Games resulted in just 125 reportable injuries and no fatalities. With around 80 million working hours involved in the building work, and using the UK construction injury rate, the project might have expected to result in three fatal and 750 reportable injuries, said Lawrence Waterman, head of health and safety at the Olympic Delivery Authority. Speaking at the annual British Occupational Hygiene Society conference in Cardiff, Waterman said that good occupational health and hygiene had also prevented up to 200 premature deaths from occupational illness.
Occupational asthma standards of care
Updated standards of care for occupational asthma have been published in the journal Thorax. They revise the 2008 guidance produced by the British Thoracic Society, and are aimed at OH physicians and nurses, primary and secondary care practitioners, employers, workers and their representatives.
http://thorax.bmj.com (new guidance)
http://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk (previous guidance)
Occupational asthma guidance
Guidance from the Royal College of Physicians, and funded by NHS Plus, calls on all doctors and other healthcare workers to explore job-related factors when diagnosing patients with asthma. The guidance advises practitioners to question patients with respiratory problems about their job, the materials they work with, and whether their symptoms improve when they are away from work. They are particularly reminded not to rely solely on the patient’s history, but to conduct peak-flow measurements and immunological tests for substances that could be causing the illness.
http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk
NHS Plus
The NHS occupational health project NHS Plus is to close on 31 March 2013, with its work taken forward by two bodies: the NHS Health and Work network (1), and the not-for-profit Health and Work Community Interest Company (2). The network has been set up specifically to improve the health of NHS staff, develop the NHS as a model employer, and support the development of quality OH practices in the NHS, including SEQOHS accreditation. The Health and Work CIC is designed to take forward specific strands of the NHS Plus project, including developing the existing OH helpline for SMEs (the Health for Work Adviceline) and the MOHAWK online benchmarking tool.
(1) www.nhshealthatwork.co.uk
(2) www.nhshealthatwork.co.uk
Latest NHS Research Plus available on our website. Research Plus highlights original research and systematic reviews from a wide range of current publications. Only peer-reviewed papers meeting evidence quality criteria are included. Research Plus is a joint project with NHS Plus. The April/May issue looked at some of the latest research on areas such as mental health, functional capacity tests, needlestick injuries and workplace wellness amongst others. An example paper from the April/May issue is shown below:
Presenteeism A systematic review (14 papers) finds only limited evidence that workplace health promotion can reduce presenteeism – defined as ‘being present at work, but limited in some aspect of job performance by a health problem’. Many studies were rejected through poor methodologies and high risk of bias. Ten studies showed ‘preliminary’ evidence for positive effects. Two were of strong evidence quality: worksite self-directed exercise; and manager education to promote mental health. Psychosocial issues should be targeted in addition to physical factors. BMC Public Health 2011; 11: 395
To read all of the papers in the April/May issue of Research Plus, please visit our website.
Occupational Health [at Work] subscriber information.
The April/March issue of Occupational Health [at Work] was mailed out on 2nd April 2012. To view the contents pages, please click here.
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| Conference news
Conferences from The At Work Partnership
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3-5 July 2012, London
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13 & Friday 14 Sept 2012
12 Oct, 9 Nov & 7 Dec 2012, London
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