Occupational Health News & Alerts - Archived News - 2013

Autumn 2013 Newsletter

Autumn 2013 Newsletter

Healthwork Seasonal Flu Vaccinations 2013

Influenza, i.e. the flu, is a virus that can be found in humans. The viruses that cause this illness are highly adaptable and are able to change and adapt regularly to combat changes in medicines and vaccines. Therefore, unlike many diseases, vaccines are often brought out on an annual basis to combat the ‘flu’. 

The virus itself is highly contagious and spread by droplets that are produced when a person coughs or sneezes. In most cases, where the infected individual was previously healthy, the illness tends to spontaneously recover within 1-2 weeks although individuals can be very unwell during the course of the infection. 

Healthwork to run FOM approved HAVS courses

Healthwork has been approved by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) to run training courses for Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requires all doctors or nurses who carry out HAVS assessments to be fully trained and expect them to attend a HAVS course.

Healthwork is delighted to be approved by the FOM and now becomes one of the few occupational health providers who have been assessed as competent to run an advanced training course such as the HAVS course.

 

Healthwork teams enter and complete the GCC

Healthwork entered two teams (each team consists of 7 members) into the Global Corporate Challenge (GCC).  The GCC is the worlds largest corporate health promotion event and started on 24th May 2013.  The GCC is a global initiative designed to encourage employees to be more active with the aim of 'getting the world moving'.   More details can be found at www.gettheworldmoving.com. 

Employers enter as many teams as they like of 7 members per team.  Each team member is provided with a 'pulse' which measures the number of steps taken per day over a 16 week period.  This data is entered into a central website and personal and team activity statistaics are created.  Teams can compete against each other and individuals can set personal targets, and can view their activity statistics in detail. 

"As an occupational health company, we should be pioneering health and wellbeing initiatives.  We thought that being involved with the GCC and having teams in the challenge would help our own employees to become more active and more aware of the importance of exercise and activity.  We have also encouraged our clients and customers to enter teams into the challenge" explains Managing Director Dr Tok Hussain.

Healthwork apprentice scheme

Healthwork has recently employed three apprentices in Manchester as part of the Healthwork apprentice and community scheme.

We have a strong commitment to the local community and we believe that apprenticeships make business sense.  We are delighted and excited by our apprentice scheme and hope to expand it to our Leeds office in due course.

“We definitely see a huge value in taking on apprentices.” says Julie Roberts - Healthwork Office Manager.

Global Corporate Challenge 2013

Attention all managers and employees!

(Particularly those  who would like a happier, healthier and more resilient workforce!!)

As the provider of your occupational health service, here at Healthwork we realise the importance of having a happy, healthy workforce.

One approach to this is for companies to advocate health promotion initiatives.

This alert is to introduce you to the Global Corporate Challenge(GCC). This is one such initiative with which Healthwork will be involved in 2013.

Healthwork accredited by Link-up for PTS medicals and drug/alcohol testing

Healthwork has been accredited by Link-up to become an approved supplier to the rail industry.  Healthwork had a Link-up audit on 6th February 2013 and has passed the audit succesfully.  This means Healthwork is now approved to perform Personal Track Safety (PTS) medicals and drug & alcohol tests for employees in the railway industry.

Trackside and other rails workers must have regular medical assessments to demonstrate their medical fitness.  

HAVS hand Injuries cost a council almost £35,000

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council has been fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £9,417 in costs for two breaches of the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. 

A total of 29 employees employed in the council’s parks and leisure department developed hand–arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). The council has been prosecuted and fined for failing to manage the risk.  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council after finding that the Council had had not properly assessed the risks staff faced when using vibrating equipment, such as strimmers while cutting grass, hedges and trees.  

Emotional Freedom Techniques level 1 training day at Healthwork, Byrom Street. 2nd February 2013

EFT combines psychological targeting of problems, using techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, with fingertip tapping on acupressure points about the head and torso to bring simple, fast, effective relief for phobias, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, pain, and other problems.