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

NHSOccupational Health

NHS occupational health professionals fight job cuts

by Nic Paton 7 Feb 2014
by Nic Paton 7 Feb 2014

The NHS Health at Work network has warned of “a growing body of anecdotal evidence” suggesting that employers are failing to recognise the value of NHS occupational health (OH) staff – in particular specialist nurses and doctors – and that this is leading to increasing redundancies and loss of posts.

In fact, the network is so concerned about this trend it has said it intends to hold a workshop under the banner NHS Occupational Health in Crisis? next month.

The workshop will take place at network chair Dr Anne de Bono’s department at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on Wednesday 26 March.

In a letter to network members, de Bono said: “Recent events, including redundancies of OH physicians and senior nurses and the outsourcing of major contracts, are combining to present a key challenge to the future for NHS OH services.

“There is a growing belief that this challenge is prompted by a lack of understanding on the part of commissioners of the added value of NHS OH services and, on our part, by an inability to clearly articulate our added value and to demonstrate value for money.”

To that end, the network was keen to mount a strong promotional fight back during 2014 – including running a campaign to set out the business and clinical advantages associated with NHS OH provision, and to highlight the “unique added value” of senior clinical staff.

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.

In a further development, the network has been working with NHS England to clarify the current arrangement for health declarations for applicants to the NHS Performers List.

An interim statement briefing clarifying the arrangements was published in January.

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
New Health and Work Service needs a multi-provider vision
next post
Health and Work Service “must use properly qualified professionals”

1 comment

Cacao Van Houten 7 Feb 2014 - 5:24 pm

I don’t think OH has helped itself enormously by providing generalist, ‘sit on the fence’ platitudes, that fail to offer practical ways to enable sick employees to remain in work, or return as soon as possible.

Comments are closed.

You may also like

‘Replace sick notes with gym’, Streeting tells GPs

11 Jul 2025

Doctors vote for return to strike action

8 Jul 2025

‘Frustrating’ that NHS Plan has overlooked OH, warns...

8 Jul 2025

Four in 10 call centre workers to quit...

8 Jul 2025

NHS 10-year Health Plan sets out vision for...

3 Jul 2025

Third in north west fear ill health will...

2 Jul 2025

One in eight senior NHS managers from black...

1 Jul 2025

Supporting employees through substance abuse

24 Jun 2025

Barts nurse told to remove watermelon image claims...

19 Jun 2025

Number of new nurses from abroad falls by...

18 Jun 2025

  • Empower and engage for the future: A revolution in talent development (webinar) WEBINAR | As organisations strive...Read more
  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...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