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What a comprehensive reply from Carr (as always). It will be interesting to see where Christine works (type of industry) and what her qualifications are. Jean On 26 July 2014 15:18, Sharon Naylor <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Might be useful to differentiate between an oh strategy and what tasks > might be encompassed within it. The issues below could be termed health > promotion, and in reality needn't be undertaken by an OHA. So I would > include the activities below but as a small part of overall strategy, if it > is the main part it will soon become apparent that they could get these > activities from someone like a fitness instructor, at half the price of an > OHA. So you need a strategy that will add measurable value, and also be > well within the specific remit of OH as Carr has outlined below. Ps > managers should be doing pregnancy risk assessments with referral to OH in > exceptional circa rather than it being routine > > Carr Barnes <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello Christine > > The types of initiatives you are thinking are not normally part of a > core OH strategy. Have you got any OH qualifications? Are you part of a > team who take care of the core OH functions? OH is a speciality and I don't > want to scare you but you could easily find yourself working out side your > scope of practice exposing yourself and your employer to liability and > risk, > > > In the first instance you need to be working with the safety team on the > health aspects of the risk assessments; this is the prevention/protection > activities -- i.e trying to stop them becoming ill/injured from work > activity in the first place which is the core of OH e..g > > - looking at a musculoskeletal policy to back up any DSE and manual > handling risk assessments at the very basic level and beyond that looking > at any other tasks that have a musculoskeletal load with or without awkward > postures e..g mechanics having to bend over/ under vehicles, production > workers standing all day and reaching/twisting, delivery men having to > climb stairs, walk for long periods, occupational drivers etc > - health surveillance and respiratory allergens, > - skin surveillance if risk of skin damage > - hard, arm and full body vibration syndrome > - stress (work related) > - ....to name but a few! I advise you dig into the HSE website for a > few days to read about the various industries, exposures etc as a basic > starting point. > > BTW pregnancy risk assessments are just that .. risk assessments.. not > medical or OH assessments .. they are ideally done by the line manager as > he knows the work place and personal medical information should not be part > of the discussion; anything highlighted by the RA can then be referred to > OH, safety or HR for further advice as appropriate. > > Once all the core stuff is well looked after and embedded then you need > to look at organisational health promotion initiatives e..g > > - adding value to the attendance management process so that employees > return to work as early as possible as work is good for health and for > promoting recovery from surgery, illnesses etc. As part of this we look at > barrires occurring to RTW and if they can be removed, and if not can the > be reduced. .. e.g. if waiting for NHS physio is delaying RTW in a > physically demanding work environment then there may be a business case > argument for business funding to an OH physio service to expedite RTW and > re-establishment of task fitness. > - early intervention and referral programmes > - mental wellbeing policies and EAPs > - Health @ Work leaflets e..g for the pregnant employee, posture > breaks for DSE workers etc > > > Then you look at the more individual level initiatives of disease > prevention to encourage the employee to promote their own health and make > healthy choices .e.g. wellness days, exercise classes etc > > > Remember your role is to add value to the business's bottom line by > supporting the attendance and performance with OH strategies. > > You may find the following (link and attachments) helpful > > http://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/index.html > > > Good luck > > > On 26 July 2014 11:59, Christine Mortell < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Currently, I am putting together OH Strategy for the Autumn. I am new to > OH and so wish to run initiatives that are easy to begin with to gain my > confidence. > > We have started to offer spinning classes in the onsite gym. I have linked > in with the nutritionist in the canteen. There is a mothers room onsite > that is used for storage. I have performed a lot of pregnancy risk > assessments and so wish to promote breastfeeding etc. I am planning on > running two days in September for BP Checks, Weight and BMI. > > Any suggestions would be welcome..... > > ******************************** > Please remove this footer before replying. > > OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html > > CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH > > > ******************************** Please remove this footer before > replying. > > OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html > > CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH > ******************************** Please remove this footer before > replying. > > OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html > > CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: > http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH > ******************************** Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH