Unions urged to respond

Trade union delegates at the annual Hazards Campaign conference in Keele last month were urged to respond to two government consultations on occupational health (OH): Occupational health: working betterand Tax incentives for occupational health. These are seeking views on proposals to increase employer use of OH services and exploring the role of tax incentives in boosting OH provision by employers. They close this month.

Union health and safety specialists expressed concern that the proposals could lead to poor quality OH services and about the further extension of the professionals who can sign fit notes. As a result of a recent policy change, registered nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and pharmacists, as well as doctors, can now certify fit notes.

The SOM society of occupational medicine says OH coverage across Britain currently stands at 45% of workers, “substantially lower than international comparators”. It says OH “must scale up, but quality must be assured”. It “must be leveraged for health promotion and prevention in addressing the social determinants of health, rather than more of the same reactive case management”.

Fit notes are not being used effectively, it added, and this has not been addressed by the recent policy change. It is calling for a locally delivered, but nationally led, work and health service responsible for fit notes, requiring IT data linkage and investment. The two consultations can be found on the gov.uk website.