News

* Organisations to receive up to £100,000 to help with challenges small businesses and self-employed face with ill health at work * Projects to focus on research and development to increase access and capacity in occupational health (OH) A £1 million fund for new ideas to boost health and welfare at…

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…

This is a five-year strategy to improve the health and wellbeing services for NHS people, to keep them safe and healthy, and empowered to pass good care onto patients. This forms part of the NHS’s ambition for a proactive culture of wellbeing within the NHS people plan and people promise. This…

Recent publicity about the issue of workers with health conditions falling out of work is welcome. A seminar hosted by SOM on Thursday 13th October, with the Bank of England and Institute for Employment Studies, highlighted this further. In the UK there is a lack of competent advice for workers with…

At the SOM AGM in June it was agreed that SOM membership from 2023 should include online access to the Journal of Occupational Medicine as a default benefit of membership, with rates frozen for 2023 at £217/year. The AGM requested this change to ensure membership is as accessible and affordable as…

SOM is calling for organisations to take a strategic, planned, approach to managing Long COVID in the workforce. There needs to be early, appropriate intervention, using occupational health input - rather than leave it to individual line managers to decide how to best manage each case. This SOM…

With the NHS under continuing pressure, occupational health (OH) experts have called on businesses to rethink how they tackle Long COVID and mental health issues in the workplace. Speaking at an Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland event on Wednesday to mark Occupational Health Awareness Week (19…

New poll finds 68% UK adults think occupational health is important but just 10% believe some current workplace health & wellbeing services important Ill health cost £10.6 billion to UK businesses in 2018-19, with 1.7 million suffering work-related health conditions in 2020-21 Business leaders urged…

The SOM welcomes the Department of Work and Pension’s changes in July to the fit note. This allows a wider range of healthcare professionals such as nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists to authorise it. The fit note is an important service in GP practices to help people…

Occupational health has a key role to support ESG factors (Environment, Social, and Governance). This paper, The Future of Work, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability: Time to Act on Climate and Health prepared by Dr Fiona Adshead, will be presented at the SOM/FOM conference, taking place 22nd-24th…

The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) welcomed the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith MP to Occupational Health (OH) departments at Transport for London and Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust on 17th May. SOM asked the Minister as to the pace of implementation and…

The Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) is delighted to welcome Lord Popat as a Patron of the SOM. Lord Popat joins Lord Blunkett, Dame Carol Black, and Sir Norman Lamb as SOM Patrons. SOM looks forward to welcoming Lord Popat at the launch of a new book on Art and Occupation at the British…