Occupational Health is a multi-disciplinary approach to keeping employees healthy, productive and at work.
The range of available occupational health services is extensive, and a good Occupational Health provider will tailor services to exactly meet the needs of each individual business.
As an overview, here are just a few of the services employers can draw on from their Occupational Health provider:
- Occupational Health Advisors (OHA), who are registered Nurse Consultants and have experience of varied industries and employment types, can advise on restricted duties, lifting restrictions and phased returns to work depending on the condition of the employee.
- The OHA also carries out health surveillance to help employers comply with their statutory requirements to prevent ill health. This may take the form of hearing testing, hand arm vibration (white finger) testing, lung function testing and blood taking
- Occupational Physicians (OHP’s) can assist in areas such as ill health retirement, radiation and HGV medicals. Also, OHP’s can help employers manage specialist testing for lung conditions for example MRI and X-ray testing
- Occupational Physiotherapists can work either on site in a factory setting or in a clinic. Physios can give expert advice quickly to help employees recover from either work related injuries, repetitive problems in the manufacturing process or by giving ergonomic advice when new lines are being designed. This will save money for the factory by preventing absence before the issue arrives.
- Psychological Counselling is a real benefit to industry because people can have therapy at an early stage. Supervisors can be trained to spot employees who are suffering from stress related issues, either work or non-work related, before they result in absence. These issues may be related to work, but we all have external issues that affect us – financial, relationship or health issues that we don’t want to advertise but may just need help.
For further information on how Occupational Health services can benefit your business, please contact David Barber at Central Occupational Health here
David Barber, Lead Occupational Health Advisor at Central Occupational Health
