What is Occupational Health?
Occupational Health is about the effect of work on health, and the effect of health on work.
It plays a vital role in helping employers care for and understand the needs of their employees.
It enables businesses to reduce sickness absence levels and optimise staff performance and productivity.
Occupational Health is a vital component of HR policy, enabling employers to understand and comply with Health and Safety legislation and to ensure workplace risks are effectively managed.
Occupational Health assistance can assist organisations by giving appropriate advice regarding rehabilitation and restricted duties programmes and policies, advise on medical intervention programmes, disability adjustments, ill-health retirement issues and the management of existing work-related health problems.
What are the benefits of obtaining Occupational Health Advice?
To increase productivity through effective sickness absence management and wellbeing strategies.
To support the rehabilitation and early return of staff to the workplace following prolonged periods of sickness absence/injury.
Reduction of costs associated with sickness absence, litigation and insurance.
Identification and provision of suitable intervention and prevention of work related ill-health.
Compliance with Health and Safety legislation.
Promotion of a culture of employee health and wellbeing.
Selection of the right employee for the right job and reduced turnover rates and recruitment costs.
What services does Nicky Lavin Occupational Health Nurse Specialist provide?
Work Health Assessment
The OH adviser undertakes an initial medical work health assessment when an individual is offered a role within a company. The OH adviser will give clear concise advice to human resources regarding an individual's medical suitability to undertake the role for which they have been employed. The OH adviser will also give advice regarding any requirement for adjustment within a role.
Counselling and Welfare services
The OH adviser will provide an initial assessment of any individual with stress related issues, psychological issues, following a bereavement or after a particularly difficult work related incident. They will put a plan in place as to how to progress from that point, whilst involving the individual's own primary health care services and the employer at every step along the way to support the individual within the working environment.
Employee Well-being checks
The OH adviser will conduct blood pressure, cholesterol, and urine tests along with checking height, weight and body mass. They will provide the employee with advice regarding their physical health. Appropriate evidence based literature will also be provided to the employee.
DSE and Ergonomic Assessments
The OH adviser will carry out assessments within the working environment and advise the employer accordingly.
Functional Capacity Assessments
If an assessment is required to determine a worker's ability to perform physically active work duties, in order to help them return to work, the OH adviser will work with other suitably qualified health professionals to facilitate this. Ultimately this assessment will identify if the worker is able to match the demands of the job in areas such as mobility, fitness, stamina, strength, agility, co-ordination and dexterity.
Health Surveillance within the workplace
The OH adviser can undertake Audiometry (Hearing Tests), Spirometry (Lung Function Testing) and also skin assessments. The OH adviser can attend at your workplace to assess your staff thereby avoiding the need to send staff to external assessments and the associated costs involved with travelling.
Training
The OH service can provide or facilitate training input in relation to stress management, work-life balance, building up resilience and induction programmes.
Advice and information
The OH adviser will advise with regards to evidence based health related issues.
About Nicky Lavin
Nicky Lavin is a Specialist Nurse Practitioner in Occupational Health
Nicky is based in between Lincoln and Gainsborough and currently provides a service to companies throughout the East Midlands.
She has been a qualified nurse for the past 25 years and a Specialist Practitioner in Occupational Health at degree level since 1999.
She has a B Med sci (Hons) in Occupational Health, RGN and SEN nursing qualifications. All her registrations are recorded with the nursing and midwifery council.
Nicky has qualifications in Health Ergonomics at Master's Level as well as qualifications in Teaching and Assessing (adult C&G 730), a Diploma in Cancer Care and a Diploma in Research.
Nicky works as a self-employed practitioner and has had a vast experience working in a variety of different OH environments in the following areas:
Working within and as Head of an Occupational Health unit for The Police Service for a total of 10 years.
Head of Health and Safety and Occupational Health Service delivery for The Police Service.
Working at strategic level for The Police Service and being involved in influencing OH service delivery at both a regional and national level for The Police Service.
OH experience in Local Government council related work, mainly concentrating on schools and colleges.
Occupational Health Clinical Lead working with the NHS, Community and Mental Health services.
OH experience in heavy industry and a variety of different administration and industrial based facilities.
Nicky is currently working with a private company providing educational services for excluded children. As part of that role she has written a full Occupational Health plan which has been presented as part of the company's OFSTED assessment process.
Nicky also works closely with a nationally recognised Health and Safety company which uses her consultancy skills in relation to Occupational Health problem solving.
