Welcome to the occupational health spring newsletter.
Dear colleagues,
We have had a busy few months since the last newsletter, not least our very successful conference in February, you will find the full report in this edition. We were delighted with the attendance, engagement, and positive feedback.
In March we also attended an event at the NEC to promote occupational health in policing, more about that below too.
We have got another action-packed year of delivery and are very much looking forward to delivering our 24/25 plan.
Looking ahead one of the main priorities will be to continue to grow and nurture the network. The network evaluation we undertook has provided valuable insight as to how we can continue to strengthen the network, encouraging more collaboration and developing more specialist interest groups which will give the opportunity to focus our efforts and tailor content, see more details in 'Network News'.
We are delighted to have welcomed a number of new colleagues from non-Home Office forces and hope that you will find this newsletter and your contact with the network beneficial.
The other big priority for the coming year is to continue full transition to the Enhanced OH Standards. We are very excited about our new Standards Tracker, which is in development and will be available soon. The network can be a great source of support, guidance and information which will be so valuable to you in your standards journey.
Thank you to those forces who responded to the psychological surveillance survey, we got an outstanding response and we are now in the process of analysing results.
And finally… The OK Awards are open for applications. How about joining us on the 'red carpet' with a OH award? More details within!
Happy reading
Liz, John, and Claire
Network conference
We kicked off 2024 by holding occupational health practitioners conference in Leeds. Attended by over 80 occupational health practitioners and managers from across the UK, the event was a huge success - this is a quick overview of what was covered.
Over the two days we had some top-class presentations.
The conference began with an informative and challenging presentation from Kath Perera, Director of NHS Horizons. Kath encouraged the delegates to remember that lots of small changes can really make a difference and by creating conditions where people can achieve a shared purpose, even when things are uncertain, we can better manage our services and support our staff.
Gwen Faulkner and Emma Liddell from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire collaboration, led a great session on people and health. They discussed the benefits of occupational health and HR working together and how providing an organisational response has meant the service given to individuals who are ill or off work has become more efficient and effective.
Claire Darbyshire, Programme Director at the Centre for Data and Analytics in Policing talked delegates through the development of a future police workforce health and wellbeing model which is being designed in partnership with Integrated Care and Health Boards.
Our Service Director Andy Rhodes explained our sleep fatigue and recovery biometric programme and how the data captured by pilot forces is telling us what's really going on and helping us build a true picture of sleep across policing.
Other sessions included:
- Health Surveillance Challenge by Katie Amis-Hughes and Susan Dixon from West Yorkshire Police
- Mental health – Are we able to predict the fitness of future police officers? Presented by Max Henderson, Professor of psychological medicine and occupational psychiatry at Leeds University
- Understanding the psychological surveillance landscape by Oscar Kilo's Liz Eades, Zoe Davenport and Andy Rhodes.
During the second day delegates also had the chance to hear from John Harrison, chief medical officer for policing about some of the challenges and opportunities facing occupational health in our sector.
Jim Saunders from the College of Policing leadership team, supported by Julie Feechan , gave us a very fun, practical explanation of the National Decision Model and how it can be used not just in our working lives but in our private lives too.
We also covered occupational health practice standards, new recruit medical standards and had the chance to ask any burning questions.
We have uploaded the full PowerPoint presentation covering both days to our occupational practitioner member page. Now is probably a good time to revisit the slides. If you are not a member and think you should be please get in touch.
Practitioner network
Our special interest groups
One of the objectives of the Practitioner Network is to bring professionals together, geographically and in special interest groups and in our recent evaluation of the network we said we wanted to do more.
CMO Medical Forum
This group chaired by John Harrison, aims to provide networking opportunities for force medical advisors as well as updates and discussion on topical police/medical issues. Group membership is growing and currently stands at 22. Virtual meetings are every three months and the third meeting is in the diary. Feedback from attendees has been very positive, with the aims of the group welcomed. Please do make your FMA aware of the group and encourage them to sign up for the next meeting due to take place on 16th May, 12 noon -1pm.
OH Technicians
The Occupational Health Technicians (OHT) group continues to go from strength to strength with three meetings under our belts and new members continuing to join our ranks. The group is open to OHTs and other OH professionals who manage OHTs or have an interest. The group was active in contributing towards the recruit medical standards which are in the final consultation stage. We are also in the process of finalising the OHT scope of practice, which will be published in the good practice hub. The next whole group meeting will be in 27 June, 12noon - 1pm, invitations and agenda will be sent out soon.
We are also hosting a small discussion group about drug testing during recruitment, this is scheduled for 2 May, 12.30pm -1pm, if you would like to join let me know and I will forward the invitation.
We would very much like to set up an 'OHT corner' in the newsletter, a regular space for articles about life as an OHT in policing and news items. If you would like to be the first contributor get in touch!
OHU Managers group
We have recently launched the OHU Managers group. Many thanks to Emma Liddell from Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire for running an initial meeting on 9 April. There is a lot of interest in this group, which offers networking opportunities for managers of OH services be they clinical or non-clinical. We are currently working together to develop some terms of reference and guidelines for the group. So, if you are an OH manager from whatever background, please do consider joining the group, we offer a safe space for discussion, sharing knowledge, and best practice. The next scheduled meeting is 11 June, please do make contact if you want any further information.
Health and Wellbeing at Work show
In March, the Oscar Kilo team had a stand at the Health and Wellbeing at Work show at the NEC. This is one of the biggest shows of its type and a great place for us to showcase OH in policing and talk to delegates about a career in OH. We welcomed over 200 people to the stand, friends old and new. It is great to see the interest in OH and the work of the National Police Wellbeing Service.
John Harrison and Liz Eades both presented to conference with the following:
Shift work and metabolic syndrome: A peripatetic screening programme for the police
This session discussed the importance of recognising and addressing metabolic syndrome in the police. It included current national initiatives such as the use of Oscar Kilo (OK) wellbeing vans to deliver an accessible screening programme to frontline personnel. The session provided a basic understanding of metabolic syndrome and various strategies to utilise/adapt to their organisations.
Understanding and managing complex PTSD in British policing
Complex PTSD is an emerging and concerning issue with policing today and this session explored the nature of complex PTSD versus PTSD within the policing context. The presentation examined both cause, and effect. It also highlighted current research and approaches to detection, prevention, and treatments which are used within policing. This session provided an understanding of the nature and approaches to complex PTSD within a specific sector which could be applied elsewhere.
Both sessions were well received with some great feedback, it was an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of health issues in policing and the work that we are doing nationally to improve the wellbeing of officers and staff.
Network news...
Better together!
We are always searching for ways to strengthen the network and enable it to thrive as a community of practice. At the conference and in your feedback many of you mentioned the value of networking with colleagues and how it provides benefits on so many levels. The special interest groups for managers, OHT and FMAs already bring together professional groups; beyond these groups we are now exploring the possibility geographical/regional groups. We see these as an informal opportunity to be inclusive, sharing best practice and ideas, whilst at the same time offering support to our closest colleagues. We know that there are already some regional groups out there doing great work, so in the coming months we will be exploring what is already out there and how we can ensure that everyone has a local regional group to join.
CPD opportunities
In the coming months we are looking to offer a number of CPD opportunities, both within the special interest groups and the wider OH community. These will take to form of webinars, masterclasses, and discussion groups. We have some ideas that we are developing, however, do please let us know if you have any topics or issues you would like to see included.
OH standards update
NPWS continue to support forces with the foundation OH standards which are the bedrock of OH practice. As we announced at conference this coming year we will also be supporting those forces who are now transitioning to the to the enhanced standards.
To support you tracking progress against both the foundation and enhanced standards, we are developing a standards tracker which will have all of the standards in one place. The tracker will form the basis for your discussions with HMICFRS and it will also be your reference point for when we want to better understand the national picture. We want to make sure that this is a useful tool and will be consulting with you at key stages during its development.
NPWS will also be running standards “ masterclasses” in the coming months so that we can support each other as we commence the implementation of the enhanced standards.
HMICFRS and the OH standards
We continue to engage with the HMICFRS inspection team. This is important to assist them in their understanding of the standards and how to get the best out of their inspections. We have told them about the enhanced standards and they have advised us that they will continue to inspect against the foundation standards until the new round of inspections in 2025. We have agreed that prior to this we will provide information, guidance and training to prepare for the new inspections. If you are due your inspections this year, please do ensure that you are up to date with your standards work, they will ask!
Website and Good Practice Hub
This is a reminder about the OK website and the Good Practice Hub (GPH)
There are now 26 documents in the GPH, these include guidance, templates, and information. There is now a new section with clinical protocols. Don’t reinvent the wheel, go and have a look, what you need may well be there.
Don’t forget you will need to request access to the practitioner pages. You will firstly need to ensure you have an Oscar Kilo account, - you can create an account using the button below. Once you have an account you can request access by emailing [email protected]
Psychological surveillance landscape survey March 2024
Thank you to everyone who responded to this survey. In all we had 27 returns representing 30 forces, a great response rate. We are currently working through the information and will update you with the findings in the next newsletter.
Meeting our Singapore Colleagues
Professor John Harrison, Claire Long, Marcia Grant and Guy Martin went to Canary Wharf to meet with Dr.Hwan Ing Hee and Ms Ong Xin Yi from the Home Team Medical Service Division (HTMSD), Singapore. They provide services for the police, fire and prison staff. It was fascinating to hear about the level of service that they provide for the officers in their care and whilst there are so many differences in terms of culture, there was plenty of common ground to discuss.
Occupational health: Principles of practice
ELearning modules now available on College Learn
Alongside the College of Policing, we have developed these digital learning courses to support occupational health practitioners working within policing. Links to these courses have been added to the occupational health practitioner member page.
There are four modules, they take about 30-35 minutes to complete:
Occupational health: The profession of policing, regulations, and legal aspects
This module is designed for those personnel new to OH in a police setting. They detail the origins and organisation of policing in the UK as well as how modern day policing was established and why.
Occupational health: Assessing fitness for duty
An integral part of the role of any occupational health nurse specialist is to undertake assessment of fitness to work and provide an occupational health report to managers. This module is in two parts.
Part one: Carrying out OH assessments.
This session primarily focusses on the principles of carrying out an OH assessment following a management referral. Physical, social health and perceptions as well psychological health assessment is discussed with templates provided as guides.
Part two: Principles of report writing.
Writing reports is an integral part of OH nursing practice. This session will discuss the different types of reports that are written in OH with particular emphasis in this module on reports following management referrals. Information is provided with templates on how to construct an OH report to management.
Occupational health: Health and safety risks in policing
This module will help your understanding as to why managing health and safety risks within the Police service is different to other organisations. It will help you to differentiate between a general risk assessment and a dynamic risk assessment. It will outline the various responsibilities of all stakeholders relating to health surveillance and will increase your awareness of the differences between health surveillance and fitness for work.
Occupational health: Managers guide to occupational health
This module provides guidance to first and second-line managers as to the role of occupational health (OH) in policing. This module is designed for police officers and police staff who have direct line management responsibility.
The final module, Stakeholder management, consent and confidentiality will be added very soon.
Access the courses
To access any of these courses you must have a College Learn account, available to anyone with a .police.uk email, they can be created on the College of Policing website. Once you are logged in just search the name of the course you wish to take.
If you have difficulties accessing College Learn please contact the College Customer Contact Centre at [email protected]
Oscar Kilo awards
The Oscar Kilo awards have been created to recognise the amazing work that has been done and continues to be done, across UK policing when it comes to providing wellbeing support for the people who work for you.
We have seven categories to reflect the seven areas of the Blue Light Wellbeing Framework (BLWF), one of these being occupational health.
If your force has created a project or programme that is making a difference to the wellbeing of your officers and staff, and you can evidence one or more of the points below, then why not enter it for one of our awards.
Occupational health award criteria
Entries should address and be able to evidence areas of improvement in one or more of the following areas:
- The upkeep of adequate clinical records and the protection of patients’ confidentiality whilst acting with integrity and financial propriety.
- Training and clinical governance of Occupational Health staff.
- Working in facilities that are safe, accessible, maintained and appropriate, with the correct standards of hygiene for the services provided.
- All medical equipment is safe and appropriate for the services provided and medicines management and clinical supervision is in place where required.
- Being aware of, and driven by, the needs of the organisation, as well as the hazards, risks, processes and control measures, particularly in relation to emerging police agendas.
- Ensure that all service users are treated equally, fairly and with respect, in line with professional standards and policing codes.
Find out more and download an application form here
Oscar Kilo conference
Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service will be holding a three-day conference at Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa on 18-20 November, and we’d love you to join us.
In previous years we have held separate smaller conferences and an annual event to announce the winners of the Oscar Kilo awards. This year we will roll them all into one event which will see practitioners, wellbeing leads, OK9 handlers, Op Hampshire representatives and award finalists coming together. Please note there will not be any other events this year.
Initially this event will be invitation only, and we will be sending full details with a link to our registration form, to our Occupational Health leads in the next few weeks - so keep an eye out.