Dear Colleagues

September is always an exciting month for the Network. I am really looking forward to spending 24 hours with many of you at our Annual Conference. This is always a highlight of the year, and I am sure with the brilliant ‘line up’ of speakers, this will continue to be the case. The afternoon before the conference, the Network Board will meet for its annual face-to-face meeting – please do send through to your regional representatives any subjects that you want them to raise in that meeting – they are there to represent you.

OH continues to be very much on the government’s agenda. In the last month, the Network have contributed to government consultation submissions, as well as preparing to meet government on some specific programmes of work they are exploring, and also a seminar with the HSE on OH competencies later this month. We will feedback on these programmes of work. 

You will see from the information in this bulletin that the new online resource is progressing well, and we would love some further contributions from Network members - please see item 3 of this bulletin to see if you can share any of your own OH documents. 

Best wishes

Hilary Winch

Chair, NHS Health at Work Network

In this edition:

1. Network Annual Conference: Last Few Places Remaining

2. Major Conditions Strategy

3. New On-line Resources for Network Members

4. Meet Your East Midlands Board Member: Dr. Fauzia Begum

5. Psychological Safety in Primary Care – Virtual Event

Thrive Mental Wellbeing

6. OH in Action: Case Study

7. HSE Management of Risk from Sharps Report

8. Falls from Height

9. UK Measures of National Wellbeing

10. Courses, Resources and News

1.    Network Annual Conference: Last Few Places Remaining

We have a brilliant line-up of speakers for our annual conference being held on 13 and 14 September at the Chesford Grange Hotel and Conference Centre in Warwickshire. You can see the conference programme here.

We have four remaining 24-hour places, and a handful of day-delegate places left but you’ll need to be quick! Please contact forumconferences@btinternet.com for a booking form. You will also need to provide a purchase order number and invoicing address. The final deadline for bookings is Tuesday 5 September.

2.    Major Conditions Strategy

The Government has published its Major Conditions Strategy: Case for Change and Strategic Framework (previously known as the interim report), accessed via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/major-conditions-strategy-case-for-change-and-our-strategic-framework.

The strategy will explore how together, we can tackle the key drivers of ill-health in England, reduce pressure on the NHS and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. To deliver on these objectives, the strategy will focus on tackling the six major conditions groups – cancer, mental health, cardiovascular disease (including stroke and diabetes), dementia, chronic respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders – that account for around 60% of ill-health and early death in England.

3.    New On-line Resources for Network Members

The Network is creating a suite of resources for members, to aid good practice, both clinically and administratively. The new OH Guidance section on our website is available to Network members here.

Shared Practice documents. This month we would love to have examples of pre-placement health questionnaires that you have with your own organisations. Please send any documents you are happy to share more widely with Network members, to admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk

4.    Meet Your East Midlands Board Member: Dr. Fauzia Begum

Alongside being the Board Representative for East Midlands on the NHS Health at Work Network, Fauzia manages two portfolios. Fauzia is an Occupational Health Physician in the Occupational Health, Safety & Wellbeing team at University Hospitals Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust covering a breadth of Occupational Health work including supporting Human Resources and Health and Safety Teams across Derbyshire on staff compliance with Health and Safety Executive requirements.  

Fauzia is also the Clinical Medical Lead for Derbyshire's Post Covid Service. She has a keen interest in research and additionally, is a Principal Investigator for StimulateICP, the largest NIHR funded study into Long COVID in the UK. She has experience working with NHS England, shaping national policy on Long COVID and has taken a lead role in creating Long COVID related E-Learning modules for Health Education England.  

Passionate about steering policy development towards a healthier workforce, as Project Lead for the Derbyshire Integrated Care System's Long COVID Staff Support Service, she has been able to inform and influence local and regional policy to support NHS staff through rehabilitation and return to work planning, a topic she has presented on at SOM/FOM and Health at Work conferences.     

5.    Psychological Safety in Primary Care – Virtual Event

NHS Resolution has recently published the ‘Being Fair 2’ report, which includes analysis of work-induced stress claims.  On 6 September 2023 between 12:30-14:00, NHS Resolution are hosting a virtual forum to share the highlights of the report with guest speakers looking at psychological safety from a local implementation and from an wider systems and organisational perspective.

The link is available here: NHS Resolution Virtual Forum: Psychological Safety in Primary Care Tickets, Wed 6 Sep 2023 at 12:30 | Eventbrite.   Also attached is the flyer with details of the speakers and how to register for the event.

The report builds on the Being Fair report published in 2019 which highlighted the importance of building a just and fair culture to support staff wellbeing and patient safety. The report includes a just and learning culture charter to support practices and Primary Care Networks in navigating the journey to psychologically safe teams and organisations.

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6.    OH in Action - Case Study: Manchester University NHSFT

The Employee Health and Wellbeing (EHW) Service at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is working to create a culture that enables open and honest conversations around mental and physical health. It has developed a comprehensive training package for staff and managers to develop their skills and confidence in health and wellbeing, which acts as an enabler to this cultural change and helps to raise awareness of the wide range of services available to support them. There are a wide range of courses available, including decompressing after a critical/traumatic incident in the workplace, mental health conversation training and a new dedicated health and wellbeing leadership course. Read more.

7.    HSE Management of Risk from Sharps Report

The Health and Safety Executive have recently published their report ‘Management of risk from Sharps use in Healthcare 2022-23'. You can read the report findings here.

8.    Falls From Height

Falls when working at height remain the most common kind of workplace fatality. HSE's annual fatality statistics reported that there were 40 fatal injuries caused by falling from height in 2022/23. Make sure you take the necessary precautions and visit the HSE working at height website for guidance on how you can protect workers.

The site also has a range of useful information and sources of advice for employers. They include key messages to follow before working from height and some common work at height myths.

You can find guidance on the safe use of ladders and stepladders, which includes advice on when and how you should use a ladder at work. There are also useful resources available, including relevant publications which are free to download.

9.    UK Measures of National Wellbeing

The Office for National Statistics have published a visual overview of how people in the UK are doing against 10 domains of national wellbeing. You can see the dashboard here.

10. Courses, Resources and News       

North East Region NHS Network Board Rep Vacancy. We have a vacancy on our Network Board for the North East region. Applications are invited from Network Member colleagues working in this regions, to join our Network Board. For an informal discussion and/or an application form, contact Andrew Gilbey, General Manager at admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk and submit your application by no later than Friday 29 September. 

Musculoskeletal disorders are a major cause of injury and sickness absence in the NHS. But they can be prevented. Join the NHS Staff Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group’s webinar on 3 October from 12.00 – 13.30 to hear more about how to keep your staff healthy and safe. Register your free place now. 

Two companies were fined a combined total of more than £400,000 following a HSE investigation. The staff working at a mental health hospital were subjected to violent attacks by patients over a 3-year period. During this time there were incidents of violence and aggression towards both care staff and patients, resulting in serious injuries including loss of consciousness and permanent scarring. HSE's Principal Inspector Anne Marie Orrells said: 'Care providers should have adequate arrangements to effectively plan and organise preventative measures to prevent violence towards staff and other patients.' Read this press release for more details on the incident.

The Disability Gap: Insecure Work in the UK. Recent research conducted by the Work Foundation at Lancaster University has revealed that 1.3 million disabled workers find themselves in severely insecure work in the UK, despite 430,000 saying that they would like more hours.

Flexible working. New legislation will give workers a right to request flexible working from day one of a new job, with employers required to consider any requests and provide a reason before rejection. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 will also require employers to consult with the employee before rejecting their request, allow employees to make two requests (rather than the current one) in any 12-month period, and require employers to give a decision within two months. The government expects the measures to come into force by July 2024.

WHEC seminar: The likely prevalence of occupational noise induced hearing loss across British industry. Around 1 in 5 of British workers are exposed to noise that could damage hearing. The Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) will be presenting their latest findings in a seminar on Thursday 28^th September 2023 at 13:00-14:00. More details and register here

Download the report here: The likely prevalence of occupational noise induced hearing loss across British industry

Find out more about Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) here

Addressing Unprofessional Behaviours Between Healthcare Staff. The University of Surrey has recently completed an NIHR-funded realist review which furthered the understanding of unprofessional behaviours (e.g., bullying, incivility, and microaggressions) between healthcare staff and how such behaviours can be reduced. They are holding a webinar on the 20th of October from 10am to 12:30pm to launch their guidance for addressing these behaviours in practice. The event will also feature speakers from the NHS who have experience developing programmes tackling such behaviours in their organisation. To sign up follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/unprofessional-behaviour.

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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 here.

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.

Hilary Winch, Chair                                                 hilary.winch@nnuh.nhs.uk

Andrew Gilbey, General Manager                       admin@nhshealthatwork.co.uk