Dr Shriti Pattani, SOM President, provided evidence to this committee. She described the economic, social and individual case for providing occupational health (OH) support and services in the workplace - helping employers reduce absenteeism, reduced presenteeism, and improved productivity. She referenced the report ‘Health is Everyone’s Business' as making the case:
- The employer benefits from improved performance, lower costs, and increased profits.
- The wider economy and taxpayer benefit from reduced costs of healthcare and benefit support, increased tax and NI revenues from workers, and improved GDP.
- The social case is a healthier workforce, prevention of medical issues resulting in less pressure on the NHS.
- Work is good for people’s health (at least ‘good work’ is) – keeping them active and connected with others. Staying in ‘good work’ correlates with a healthier life.
- The individual case for OH is improved health, maintained ability to work, and earnings.
She was asked, “How does OH provision need to vary for different groups of people?" Dr Pattani replied that:
- Special OH provision is not required for different groups of people as trained OH clinicians put the functionality of various groups of people at the heart of their assessment and subsequent advice will take account of these differences.
- It is not so much the OH provision that needs to vary, as the access to it – to reach more diverse groups of people.
- Access to OH support is not a level playing field. Employees in large businesses are most likely to have access.
MPs asked, “Whether all OH services and support need to be delivered by a registered practitioner, or is there a role for technology and innovation to increase access?" Dr Pattani said:
- Yes, there was a role for technology and innovation.
- OH services are delivered by registered practitioners who have undertaken additional training to specialise in OH.
- Some OH work could be delivered by case managers, vocational rehab professionals and OH technicians, with professional OH practitioners called on for more challenging and specialist advice.
She was also asked, “How OH services have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?” Dr Pattani answered that:
- OH has moved from being in the back office to being central to the function of a business, with a focus on prevention.
- OH is central to keeping staff in the workplace safe and healthy.
- Rather than be seen as a ‘breakdown service and useful when staff are unwell’ it is recognised strategically to be part of keeping staff safe and healthy in the workplace and therefore benefits the productivity of the business.
A further question was, “If you could make one change to increase employee access to OH services, what would it be?" Dr Pattani replied that:
- OH needed to be part of mainstream care, prescribable by GPs as an outcome to a consultation as per support for any other speciality e.g. surgery, rheumatology etc.
- Fast-track access to return to work assessment for those who are ‘likely’ candidates is key.
- SOM would also like to see ‘join up’ between OH, primary care, and DWP employment advisers, and work coaches to reduce worklessness due to ill health.
Dr Pattani also stated that there needs to be an increase in the number of Occupational Medicine training posts to cope with an ageing workforce and the loss of qualified staff. A recent survey among private OH providers found that 44% were unable to fill vacancies because of falling numbers of experienced clinicians.
Finally, Dr Pattani said there is a clear return on investment for OH and highlighted the NHS Growing OHWB programme - a five-year strategy launched last year. She said, “We are already reaping the benefits of this where OH is working across a system and providing specialist support such as in the Isle of Wight and Cumbria.”
Read the full transcript here.
25th January 2023