Dear Colleagues

It was really good to meet those who attended the conference, AGM and dinner. The feedback has been positive and the same venue has been reserved again for next year! 

The presentation topics included wellbeing, neurodisabilities, the work/health interface, mainstreaming occupational health and updates on the law and BBVs. They are available on the Network website. 

The Board met before the conference and received a full presentation from the Network Members' survey conducted in the summer. The presentation is available to all members on the Network website. Key results from the survey were presented at the AGM. 

Members of the Board are currently reviewing the business plan in the context of the survey results and I will share this with you in the near future. 

Dr Ailsa McGinty from DOH/DWP, who led the consultation on the Green Paper, joined us at the conference. She provided the Board with a summary of the consultation outcomes which is expected to be published shortly. We have expressed interest in any opportunities which may arise as a result of the consultation.

Good luck with the flu vaccination programmes!

Shriti Pattani
Network Chair

The next edition will be circulated on 8th November.

In this edition:
1. Network Annual Conference
2. MoHaWK
3. BUPA mental health guide for managers
4. Cheshire and Merseyside back pain campaign
5. FOHN/AOHNP merger
6. New SOM President
7. Flu fighter update
8. NHS Employers update

1. Network Annual Conference – 13/14th September 2017

We enjoyed another hugely successful conference in September with 100% overall satisfaction and recommendation rate once again. Many thanks to all our delegates for attending and for their interest and enthusiasm, which makes it such a lively event. Also thanks to our exhibitors for supporting the conference. You can find copies of the presentations here and we hope to see you all again next year.

2. MoHaWK – Round 11 reports

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to pull off your organisational report for Round 11 so you can review your results and make the necessary arrangements for any improvements required. We have also produced some summary results from Round 11 which are available here.

If you need any further support please contact hilary.winch@syngentis.co.uk.

Round 12

Plans are coming together to launch Round 12 – please watch out for the details during this next month. Thank you to those who provided feedback at the Network conference – this information has been really helpful in shaping the content of future rounds.

3. BUPA mental health guide

BUPA has produced free guidance for managers on how to promote good mental health at work. It provides advice on recognising mental health issues and promoting good mental health in the workplace.

4. Cheshire and Merseyside back pain campaign

As part of their campaign to help people take better care of their backs, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has produced an animation which highlights the role that patients can play in self-managing back pain, by following the 7 golden rules. These include advising patients to keep moving, even if slowly, and not to sit down too long. It explains that most back pain fades within six weeks and often does not need intervention from a doctor. A new website has also been launched to give people more information about looking after their backs.

5. FOHN/AOHNP merger

Following a member survey earlier this year, a potential merger with the FOHN was a topic for discussion at the AOHNP conference on 6th October. We will report on the outcome in the next bulletin.

6. New SOM President

Dr Paul Williams, Programme Director for the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments at Maximus, has taken over the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) presidency from Dr Sally Coomber.

7. Flu fighter update

Simplified numerator and denominator guidance 

NHS England, Public Health England and NHS Employers have partnered to release additional simplified guidance (see pages 27-32) on who should and shouldn’t be included in the uptake figures. This guidance should help you understand the full PHE Immform guidance.

#jabathon 

#jabathon will take place from 6-10 November so make sure you sign your trust up to our Thunderclap. Thunderclap sends out a simultaneous tweet at 8:45am on 6 November telling people it’s the start of #jabathon week and asking their followers to share their reasons for getting their jab.

For great ideas about how to make the most of your jabathon week, visit the jabathon page. It is filled with ideas around tweeting, special events, and much more.

Flu shop 

We have now launched our flu shop! You can easily order all your flu fighter promotional merchandise including pens, hand gel, mugs, t-shirts and more, some of which can be personalised with your trust’s logo.

Vaccine preparation 

We’d like to remind you of Public Health England’s guidelines which state that you should not be expelling the air bubbles (if any) in pre-filled vaccine syringes unless stated in the vaccine Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). If you try to expel the bubbles you risk expelling some of the vaccine which risks not giving the patient the full dose. The air injected into the muscle forms an airlock preventing the vaccine seeping out along the needle track into subcutaneous tissue and onto the skin. You can find more information about this on page 12 of Inactivated influenza vaccine: information for healthcare practitioners.

However, we have identified one vaccine (Influvac® sub-unit) which does require you to expel the remaining air as its SPC states in the last paragraph. Please ensure you always check the SPC before administration. If you have any questions, please contact the manufacturer or immunisation.lead@phe.gov.uk.

Tell us what you thought 

You should all now have received your flu fighter materials ready for flu season. We’d like to know what you think of them, so please complete our survey and get entered into a draw for a chance to win limited edition flu fighter materials.

If you have any questions please email flufighter@nhsemployers.org or call the flu fighter hotline on 0844 334 5252.

8. NHS Employers update

Musculoskeletal Health Toolkit for Employers

Business in the Community (BiTC) has partnered with Public Health England (PHE) and Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) to produce an online interconnected suite of toolkits to help organisation support the mental and physical health and wellbeing of its employees.  This Musculoskeletal Health Toolkit has been developed for employers. The content is based on research evidence and on the experiences of what employers and employees, including those with musculoskeletal problems, have found to reduce the impact of such problems on work.

BITC is currently conducting a survey to find out what organisations are doing to help staff maintain or improve their musculoskeletal (MSK) health, and reduce the impact of any musculoskeletal problems on work, so that this good practice can be shared with other organisations. Please complete the survey by 20th October and return to Danielle Wolman, Danielle.Wolman@bitc.org.uk.  

New: Workplace Health Needs Assessment

This new helpful tool has been released by Public Health England and provides practical advice for employers on workplace health and a tool for carrying out workplace health needs assessments.

Mental Health First Aid in The Workplace (MENTOR) research study

Can you help with this research study? The MENTOR study is a research study at the University of Nottingham, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), looking at how mental health first aid (MHFA) can best address the mental health needs of employees. As part of the study they are conducting a survey with employer organisations that have funded at least one member of their workforce to receive MHFA training delivered by MHFA England. To take part or for further information and contact details please contact  Melanie.Narayanasamy@nottingham.ac.uk or on telephone: 0115 823 0888
 
Mental Health at Work Report – Business in the Community

BiTC have published their Mental Health at Work Report 2017 which draws on the findings from the National Employee Mental Health Survey.

The report highlighted some significant improvement in attitudes towards mental health in the workplace during the past year. 84% of employers acknowledge that they have a responsibility towards their employees’ mental wellbeing with 91% of managers agreeing that what they do affects the wellbeing of their staff.

The NHS Health at Work Network brings together all OH teams providing health and wellbeing services to NHS OH staff.  It is dedicated to providing consistent, high quality health at work services to all NHS staff through collaborative working.

Members of OH teams in NHS Health at Work Network member organisations can receive the bulletin and access the restricted areas of the website as a membership benefit – if you are not sure of your login details email admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk.

Please share this bulletin with colleagues and encourage them to register to receive it regularly.

Non-Network members can also register to receive the monthly bulletin.

You can contact the Network through your regional representative or as shown below. Please get in touch if you have any queries or comments, if there is anything you would like to see in future issues of the bulletin, or if you have news to share.

Dr Shriti Pattani, Chair shriti.pattani@nhs.net
Andrew Gilbey, Network Manager andrew.gilbey@syngentis.co.uk
Wendy Coleman, Network Administrator admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk or wendy.coleman@syngentis.co.uk

Postal address: PO Box 642, BS23 9NG
Tel: 07584 269322