Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Mental health conditionsOccupational Health

Mental health disorders account for half of OH doctor referrals

by Nic Paton 29 Jan 2015
by Nic Paton 29 Jan 2015

Mental health disorders now account for more than half of all cases reported by occupational physicians, making them the most common work-related ill health problem, the Society of Occupational Medicine’s journal Occupational Medicine has said.

Researchers, led by a team at Manchester University, studied data across three surveillance schemes between 2005 and 2012. It is the first time that a study has investigated the incidence of work-related ill health and compared detailed data across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Musculoskeletal disorders were the second most frequently reported across all three regions. The study also found that asbestos occupational respiratory disease was more common in Great Britain and Northern Ireland than in the Republic of Ireland. This is likely to be because of the more prominent historical use of asbestos in the UK, it concluded.

As a result of this research, in January the society urged employers to do more to tackle mental health problems and invest in workplace health.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Dr Alasdair Emslie, the society president, said: “The workplace is the ideal environment to cost-effectively address a variety of health problems, including supporting those with mental health problems. Early recognition of the signs of stress, anxiety and depression is the crucial first step in dealing with such problems and preventing them from becoming more serious.

“Occupational health specialists have the ability to improve the health of thousands of workers by bringing in policies and wellbeing programmes – a general practitioner can affect a tiny proportion of this number by seeing them one to one for a few minutes each year,” he added.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
WFH and HR: managing remote working effectively
next post
Case shows risk of transferee liability for harassment occurring before TUPE transfers

1 comment

Dave C 6 Feb 2015 - 3:23 pm

Unfortunately, there seems to be little evidence that OH Services have the capacity to do much to improve mental well-being at work. Their services seem to be reactive – coming in after problems have occurred, rather than preventative, working in conjunction with employers to improve things at a strategic and factory floor level. Employers don’t seem very interested in investing in health prevention anymore, it’s returned to the days of “go see OH to see how quickly we can get you back, or get you out”.

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

‘Healthy work’ about much more than access to...

28 Apr 2025

Tool developed for employers to calculate cost of...

28 Apr 2025

Why employers must do more to support all...

24 Apr 2025

How to help employees quit vaping before new...

22 Apr 2025

  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today