FAQ

Occupational health promotes and maintains the physical and mental well-being of people in the workplace. It focuses on the health and wellness of an organisation’s employees, both as individuals, and as part of a group. Occupational health works within a business to keep workers safe and healthy and ensures that companies take their legal responsibilities, in relation to health surveillance, seriously. Occupational health can be both reactive and proactive. It can respond to episodes of ill health or help to identify potential health issues or impact of the working role or environment on a person’s health and well-being. It is a vital part of the public health agenda.

Using occupational health services can benefit your business in many ways. Here are a few of the most important ones that our clients have identified.

Occupational health can:

• Support managers to adopt healthy practices
• Help to quickly identify any pattern of ill health
• Reduce absence costs
• Increase staff retention
• Improve productivity
• Increase profitability

All businesses are unique and everyone within that business has a different set of needs. As a guideline we recommend that occupational health should be used as follows:

• On an ongoing basis if it is for health surveillance and screening requirements
• If an employee is unwell, best practice is to refer to occupational health if the absence extends beyond 20 working days (four weeks).

Please note, there are times when this would be sooner as early intervention can be beneficial and help to reduce the absence time or further complications.

1. People suffering from stress, anxiety or depression may find it helpful to be referred sooner as they may benefit from additional support from counsellors or advice about management support that would be helpful. Adjustments to their role and duties may also be beneficial.
2. People experiencing musculoskeletal issues may also find early referral beneficial so that they can access additional support from physiotherapy or receive advice about adjustments to their role and duties.

Here at Choose Occupational Health we work across most sectors including:

• Local authorities
• Education
• Service industries
• Healthcare providers
• Manufacturing industries

We offer a full range of occupational health services that can be tailored to the needs of your business. Our friendly and experienced team can help identify the services that will best meet your requirements and create a personalised package.

Services include:

• Absence Management – Fitness for Work Assessment with Occupational Health Advisers and Occupational Health Physicians.
• On-Employment paper screening questionnaires.
• Health Surveillance including HAVS, Audiometry, Skin Assessments, Lung Function Testing, Drug and Alcohol Testing, COSHH Assessments and D4 Licence Renewal.
• Non-licence Asbestos Medicals.
• Ill-health retirement reviews and reports for LGPS pension scheme and recommendations for private pension schemes where required.
• Well-being Services including CBT, mindfulness, person-centred therapy and talking therapy.
• Educational support work for line managers, providing specific tailored training events on Absence Management, when to use occupational health (including roles/responsibilities) and how to get the best out of your referral.
• Vaccinations and immunity blood testing for personal travel health and for health providers
• Support for line manager – line managers can ring for advice and guidance on when and how to make a referral to Office Manager.
• Early intervention physio treatment.

Yes, we work with qualified physiotherapists that cover the whole of the county. Appointments can be made once there has been a referral from a line manager. If an employee is being seen for a Fitness for Work Assessment this may require authorisation from a manager before the appointment can be allocated. DSE Assessments can be completed upon request.

We offer a range of well-being services with variable levels of support, dependent on need. Services include:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Mindfulness
• Person centred therapy
• Talking therapy

Yes, we can deliver services onsite. The needs of your business will be discussed during your initial consultation.  You will be given a delivery plan based on the volume of staff, the type and number of services required. Our experienced team will advise on the best way to deliver your chosen services so that you don’t incur any unnecessary costs.

You will be assigned experienced and fully trained staff according to need so personnel will vary depending on which services you require. Our team currently includes:

• Occupational Health Advisor or OHA (a registered nurse with occupational health knowledge)
• Occupational Health Physician or OHP (a doctor who has a qualification and knowledge in occupational medicine)
• Technician (a practitioner who has undertaken accredited training to carry out screening assessments)

Yes, all our staff members attend in-house training programmes specific to their role as well accredited training courses, industry conferences and group meetings to ensure their practice is kept up to date.

Yes, our standard contracts last 12 months (April – March) and are done on a rolling basis, meaning you are not required to renew. The pricing schedule is reviewed annually and if there are any changes this is shared beforehand.

For more information on the types of contract available and the most suitable for the service you require please visit our Contract Options page or contact us to speak to a member of our team.

Our friendly team are happy to speak to you about your requirements. Based on a number of variables, including number of people, length of time, services required and location, you will be provided with a quote for a tailored package, designed to meet your specific needs.

Here at Choose Occupational Health, we recognise the importance of building good relationships with our clients. Our staff members are noted for their friendliness and approachability and we work hard to recruit the right members to our team. It is our intention for the same clinician/s to attend your site to ensure continuity of the service and the company’s policies and procedures. We will always do our best to achieve this. This may vary slightly due to holiday and sickness cover. Where possible, we will notify you of any changes in advance.

We hold clinics in West Cumbria in Workington and at our headquarters in Carlisle. Throughout our network of associates, we provide clinics in other areas of Cumbria. You will be made aware of locations during consultations with our staff.

We operate a year-round service. Our offices are open Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm (excluding bank holidays and the Christmas week) except for Thursday when we close our office at 1pm for staff training.

Our primary objective is to create a healthier and happier workforce in Cumbria. However, we appreciate that some of our clients may have satellite offices based outside the region or individual employees who work from home out of the county. In these instances, we would look to our associate network to provide a suitable appointment, where possible. Please talk to us about your requirements and our team of staff can advise.