Supporting the people who support workplace health: iOH in practice

Samantha Langford, Board Director iOH

At iOH, the Association of Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals, our ambition is to support confident practitioners who can contribute to and influence the health of people at work, whether in an internal post, or working for an external partner. We strive to provide people across all aspects of occupational health and workplace wellbeing access to relevant learning, supportive professional connections and opportunities to share their expertise.

Our aims centre on bringing the occupational health community together, championing multidisciplinary working and sharing expertise. Our charitable purpose is the advancement of public health, particularly workplace health, by developing practitioners’ knowledge, skills and experience and promoting good practice. We are working towards occupational health expertise being engaged early, its contributions being valued, and its advice informing organisational decisions. This aligns with the Council for Work and Health’s mission of providing professional leadership and expertise on strategic work and health issues, by actively supporting those delivering this work, sharing their knowledge and informing wider discussions on the future of occupational health.

Developing confidence and expertise

Our community of 1,500 members has considerable knowledge and experience to share. Our role is to facilitate the sharing of that knowledge, whether through our blog, quarterly journal or extensive webinar programme. The latter covers a wide range of topics, recently covering chronic pain, fertility treatments and the use of artificial intelligence, offering free live sessions and on demand recordings. These free sessions ensure that learning is accessible for members and subjects reflect the topics that practitioners are facing, as well as covering emerging themes.

As part of membership, our quarterly journal, OH Today, brings together professional insight from across the sector, as well as members’ practical experience. Covering the broad range of elements that encompass our multi-disciplinary sector matters; whether covering clinical supervision, night work, or trauma informed practice. Occupational health involves understanding the whole person, including their history, as well as their work, and the organisation in which they work. Covering such different perspectives helps practitioners across the various roles to consider things that they may encounter through their work. It’s no surprise that our member survey indicates that these are some of our most valued member benefits.

We build on these insights by providing practical resources that members can utilise when responding to the needs of their clients, such as our toolkits on neurodiversity, menopause, and fertility.

Pulling everything together are our reflective practice sessions, which recognise the complexities of occupational health, and provide a safe space for members to discuss clinical evidence, or ethical decision-making, with their peers. These sessions really complement our career development portal, which supports members through career transition. We know that every stage of a career in occupational health has challenges, so we have endeavoured to consider the support that is most effective for members, from those still in training, to those with many years of practice.

Additionally, our grant scheme helps members, including trainees, access learning and career opportunities. This year, funding has supported 78 members to attend conferences and study days, undertake courses in areas such as clinical supervision and travel health, and work towards larger qualifications, including Master’s-level study and the Diploma in Occupational Health Practice.

A connected professional community

Occupational health is a diverse and dynamic sector, and having peers to learn from and provide support is invaluable. Our aim is to facilitate that community, through networking, and spaces for members to connect as well as develop. We’re proud that our membership is cost effective, and free student members helps provide opportunities to build those connections early on in their career.

We know that collaboration is key across our sector, as well as facilitating the meeting of our aims. Our partners and Friends of iOH bring in connections from education, recruitment, occupational health equipment and workplace wellbeing. These are an important addition to the wider network for both our members and supporting our work.

We value the vast experience and knowledge within our community and recognise the importance that it plays in discussions about occupational health and workplace wellbeing.  Whether speaking at professional development events or responding to developments such as the Keep Britian Working Review, we want to contribute to informed discussions about occupational health and wellbeing and ensure that the people within those roles have a voice in shaping the future.

Conclusion

By supporting the people at the heart of occupational health, sharing expertise, and fostering informed debate, we contribute to the Council for Work and Health’s vision of stronger professional leadership and a healthier future for workers, workplaces, and society.

As a truly privileged OHPRA judge, I wonder whether those submitting for an OHPRA (NHS health at Work Network Recognition Awards), truly appreciate the impact their application has beyond the chance of winning.

As judges, we have the privilege of seeing occupational health (OH) and wellbeing, at its very best.

For most of the year, we focus on our own challenges, priorities and workforce pressures. The awards provide an opportunity to step back and see the incredible work taking place across the NHS. As someone who sits outside the NHS OH department, I am always blown away by the submissions. Reading them shows me just how much innovation, passion and determination exists within our profession and in the NHS. Especially as NHS OH departments have a lot of constraints and difficulties both financially and culturally within the organisations they service. This makes the quality of submissions even more special.

The OHPRAs were created to showcase and celebrate projects that support the ambitions of the NHS Health at Work Network and the wider occupational health and wellbeing agenda. The awards recognise OH departments are not simply delivering a service, but looking at how they can do things differently, improve outcomes and contribute to the growth of the profession and quality service provision. The award categories reflect key strategic priorities for all of us in OH, including developing our people, strengthening the evidence base, raising the profile of occupational health and wellbeing, and working collaboratively across systems.

As a judge, one of the most enjoyable parts of the process is reading the submissions. Every year I am struck by the quality of the entries and the diversity of ideas being developed across the country. They demonstrate that innovation is alive and well in NHS OH. I become fascinated by a service redesign, a workforce development programme, a digital innovation or a wellbeing initiative that has genuinely changed lives. Some projects are large and transformational. Others are relatively simple ideas executed brilliantly, and you wonder why no one else thought of it! What they all have in common is a difference to their teams, the organisation and the workforce they serve. What impressed me this year, was the number of submissions showcasing the multidisciplinary workforce in their teams. This is a step change and such a welcome one. We are stronger together and interdisciplinary learning is key.

Meeting the shortlisted teams is often the highlight of the process. You hear and see the enthusiasm of the individuals involved and the pride they have in what they have achieved. As one candidate said to me, I was expecting 3 questions but only got 2! That was because the submission was so excellently presented.

OH has always been a profession built on collaboration, and the finalists embody that spirit. There is a genuine wish to help colleagues learn from what has worked, avoid pitfalls and take successful ideas back to their own organisations. The awards are therefore about much more than recognition. They are about spreading innovation and accelerating improvement across the NHS.

Each year the winners are announced at the NHS Health at Work Network Annual Conference, held at Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth. It is a lovely setting, surrounded by occupational health professionals from across the country. The atmosphere is always one of excitement and friendship. Everyone celebrates for each other and of course catch up with people that haven’t seen for a while or meet new people. Being an NHS event gives this conference and award dinner a common link and understanding. It is joyous when the runners-up and winners come up to receive their awards, Hilary Winch, as compere, truly does them justice.

For me, that is the real value of the OHPRAs. They remind us that outstanding occupational health and wellbeing practice is happening every day across the NHS. They showcase what is possible when talented people are given the opportunity to innovate. They provide practical examples that others can learn from. Most of all, they celebrate the people behind the projects.

And after reading the submissions, meeting the teams and attending the awards ceremony, I am always left with the same feeling: optimism about the future of occupational health and wellbeing. Because if these are the ideas, people and services shaping the profession, the future is in very good hands indeed. But it is also a time to reflect on all that is good from the past that is going forward into our future.

In that respect, this year was particularly special; our wonderful Professor Diana Kloss (MBE) received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Diana has shaped occupational health practice in ways few others have. Her deep knowledge of law, ethics and confidentiality, has supported and continues to support countless professionals and helped the field navigate some of its most challenging responsibilities.

But what makes Diana so admired is not just her expertise, it’s her generosity. Her clarity, her ability to make complex issues understandable, and her unwavering commitment to protecting both professional standards and the people we serve makes her a very person in OH. It was a privilege to see her contribution recognised, and a joy to share the evening with her, luckily seated directly next to her.

A richly deserved award for a remarkable woman. Congratulations, Professor Diana Kloss.

Janet O’Neill

Judge, NHS Health at Work Network Occupational Health Practice Recognition Awards (OHPRAs); Deputy Head NSOH; Head of PAM Academy. iOH Trustee, Board member Council for Work and Health.

The Council for Work and Health is proud to support and champion initiatives that highlight excellence in workplace health, and the OHPRAs are a shining example of how recognising success can inspire even greater progress across the sector.

A stronger future for occupational health

The nature of work is changing fast. New technologies, shifting workforce expectations, longer working lives and intractable health inequalities are reshaping the relationship between employment and wellbeing. At the same time, employers are managing new patterns of work, rising health-related absence and demand for inclusive workplaces. Occupational health (OH) must evolve with them.

SOM provides an inclusive professional home and trusted voice for the OH community. Connecting people across disciplines and career stages, providing a wealth of resources for continuing professional development, whilst turning evidence into better outcomes for workers and organisations. This supports the Council’s mission of providing professional leadership and expertise on all strategic work and health issues.

SOM’s first priority is to ensure membership is valuable at every stage of a career. Someone discovering OH for the first time needs a different kind of support from an experienced practitioner, a senior leader or a retired member who still wants to contribute. SOM’s regional groups, events and Special Interest Groups (SIGs), support that. Future plans include an introduction to occupational health e-learning package, a developing Leadership Academy and mini-MBA, and sustainable delivery of the WISE-QM quality mark. SOM is also exploring how to make better use SOM regional groups to align with the current government’s localisation strategy.

OH succeeds when it draws on the full range of medical, nursing, allied health, rehabilitation, employment, and workplace health expertise. Annual careers activity, with partners such as the National School of Occupational Health (NSOH) aims to make the profession more visible and accessible. SOM’s scholarships and awards help people progress with their OH career and continue to improve the quality of practice.

As the Council does, by connecting professional groups rather than keeping them in separate lanes, SOM aims to support a multidisciplinary workforce equipped for future demand.

Good work can protect health, support recovery, and create wider social and economic value. That case must be heard more clearly in government, the NHS, business, and public debate. SOM works with the Council and other professional bodies, trade unions, universities, charities, and employers to achieve this. In particular, there is a key partnership with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM), running a joint annual conference, providing medical appraisals, and ensuring our policy positions are aligned where possible. SOM strongly believes that the world of OH is better when we work together.

Making the case for OH is key. Sustained public relations, backed up with practical case studies, aims to make occupational health easier to understand. Coming up, SOM wishes to highlight the work of OH to support NEETS; SOM is wholly aligned with the government’s belief that the best thing we can offer young people is a first job, not a benefit payment!

SOM is a destination for credible publications. Take a look at our catalogue at the SOM Publications Catalogue here and our catalogue of webinars here. A key member benefit is access to the Occupational Medicine Journal.

Evidence has greatest value when people can use it. SOM aims to strengthen the research community, supporting the independent Academic Forum for Work and Health. SOM recently hosted a Research Priority Setting Meeting on work and health (report here). The workshop brought together a wide range of stakeholders to identify and prioritise key areas for future research in OH. The workshop was organised by SOM and was jointly produced with the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine; The Colt Foundation sponsored the venue and it was facilitated by an independent adviser from the James Lind Alliance.

At its heart, SOM share’s the Council’s wish for one multidisciplinary community, working towards healthier work, better practice, and outcomes. Our success is measured by more people entering OH as a career, greater employer and public understanding of OH, and use of OH research in practice.

Coming up, we have the SOM Occupational Health Awards – entries for the 2026 awards are now open! Do apply by completing the form here (rules of entry here). Closing date: 5pm Monday 2nd November. Categories are as follows:

• Outstanding Occupational Health Initiative
• Outstanding Occupational Health Practitioner
• Outstanding Contribution by an Employer to Workplace Health and Wellbeing, sponsored by OH Assessment
• Outstanding Occupational Health Team
• Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion
• Outstanding Contribution to the Development of OH Globally
• Outstanding Contribution to Occupational Health Research
• SOM Early Career Award
• SOM Lifetime Achievement Award

Winners will be announced at our Christmas Drinks Reception at the Royal College of Physicians London on Tuesday 8th December. Book your place here.

Overall, by supporting SOM members, developing the OH workforce, working with partners such as the Council for Work and Health, influencing systems around work and health, and making evidence useful, SOM will help OH meet future challenges. The opportunity is not simply to respond to a changing world of work, but to shape it, ensuring that more people can enter, remain and thrive in good work.

Nick Pahl, CEO

Professor Neil Greenberg, President

Workplace Mental Health Roundtable Meeting

On behalf of iOH, I was pleased to attend a recent Roundtable event to discuss Workplace Mental Health (MH). Jointly hosted by The Council for Work and Health (CWH) and the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists(BACP), there were representatives from ACAS, SOM, HSE, Able Futures and the Charlie Waller Foundation. Kevin Bampton, Chair of CWH and Nicola Neath of BACP led the group of 13 for small group discussions focussing on:

• How people without specialist MH training, such as work coaches, managers, or frontline advisors should approach MH conversations with employees.
• What wider conditions are needed for better MH support.

What followed was four hours of respectful and informed conversations ranging from making conversations safe via guidance, resources, and referral routes, to what one policy or initiative should the government prioritise. We spoke about what makes workplace support for MH effective, barriers to MH support at work, and what critical questions are being overlooked.

Whilst the day seemed to raise more questions than it answered we concluded that any cultural shift needs a community effort, that Annual Reports should go beyond finances and include wellbeing data and that the very smallest of organisations (who may have very few staff and no HR or Occupational Health function) need specific resources. We touched on the possibility that the group could contribute to a competence framework and script, possibly via ACAS, which seems perfectly placed for such a resource.

The CWH provides a coordinated professional voice to influence and engage with our government. To this end, the takeaway task set by Kevin was to reflect on “what one thing should I bang-on about to MP’s, Ministers, Civil Servants and Government?”.

Reader’s inspirations and ideas are welcome, either by commenting below, or writing to admin@ioh.org.uk

Libby Hassanali

Libby is an Author, Independent Occupational Health Nurse Advisor, Trainer specialising in Workplace Stress and Mental Fitness, Associate Lecturer Robert Gordon University, Board Director of iOH

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