Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Occupational Health and Ergonomics

The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) has issued guidance to its members on how to ensure a safe and healthy environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The guide is open access and available here.

They have brought together experts from their membership to advise on how best to address the direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic.

An advice sheet has been developed by ACPOHE to help its members to provide support to employees and employers following mandatory home working due to the COVID 19 crisis.

The Council For Work & Health have a great section on their website containing up-to-date authoritative guidance on dealing with coronavirus in a work setting.  It is being updated regularly.  Click here for link.

ACPOHE were invited to an international webinar yesterday titled Occupational Health Measures in the Preparedness and Response to COVID-19 at the Workplace – hosted by the International Occupational Medicine Society Collaborative (IOMSC).

Free access to the webinar slides and recording are avialble here.  Click here to open full news article for links.

ACPOHE would advise that you liaise directly with the employer that you are engaging with to understand what their interpretation of the government guidelines of what “essential services” are within the context of their own operating system.   While there could be an argument that OH Physiotherapy is not an essential service within the wider health care system, this may be prioritised based on the sector that you are working in such as blue light services and NHS trusts.  

We are reviewing our current course schedule and will be contacting you directly to advise on the next steps if you are already booked onto any of our courses.

The RULA, Rapid Upper Limb Assessment, by Osmond Ergonomics is a screening tool that assesses biomechanical and postural loading on the whole body with particular attention to the neck, trunk and upper limbs.  It has recently been updated and is now available in an on-line format.  Read more for the link!

Two short HSE leaflets for employers on managing the risks of musculoskeletal disorders, are now live and available for download from the HSE website.  The leaflets are:

F​​or m​​​​​ore details and links read full story.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) has just published a new report: Good work for good health: the difference occupational therapy makes (available here) which demonstrates the role and impact of occupational therapy in helping people to stay in and return to work.

Evidence shows that good work is good for our health.  It benefits the individual, society and wider economy.  Ill health costs the UK £100 billion each year, but the benefits of work are greater and economic reward, work is recognised as an essential occupation which supports longevity, health and well-being.

NICE are looking for experts to join our quality standards advisory committee (QSAC) to develop the Workplace health quality standard.

They need a Human Resources Director.

Information on the posts is available on the NICE website, please follow this link for details:

https://www.nice.org.uk/get-involved/our-committees/join-a-committee/topic-expert--workplace-health---long-term-sickness-absence-and-capability-to-work-quality-standards-advisory-committee

The deadline for applications is Thursday 13 February 2020 at 17.00.