Tag: MSK & employment

ORUK’s MSK for the Workplace programme

ORUK logoOrthopaedic Research UK (ORUK), in association with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) has launched the MSK for the Workplace programme, focused on improving the MSK health of the working age population. It follows recent news that more than 2.5 million people are currently unemployed in the UK due to health-related issues, including back and neck pain, at a time when the government has made it clear that getting people back to work is central to its plans for economic growth.…

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Economic Growth and Increased Productivity: Boosting the MSK Health of the Working Nation

Arash AngadjiGuest blog by Dr Arash Angadji, Chief Executive, Orthopaedic Research UK

The nation has a musculoskeletal (MSK) problem. As a society we have tended to focus on MSK issues relating to the ageing population, but the latest figures on the number of people not working in the UK due to long-term sickness (including poor MSK health) highlight how we need to start thinking of poor MSK health as a multi-generational challenge. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), more than two and a half million people are currently unemployed due to health-related issues, including back and neck pain.…

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Psychosocial factors and workplace MSK report

Psychosocial risks and work-related musculoskeletal disorders: exploring the links and prevention strategies

A new report explores the connections between psychosocial factors and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace using data from the latest European Working Conditions Survey and European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks.

It finds that some psychosocial factors — such as working time, job security and support from management — have more of an impact on MSDs than factors related to socio-demographics, country or economic sector.…

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Have your say on the Musculoskeletal Advanced Practice and Governance Framework

Advanced Musculoskeletal (MSK) practice has been developing for many years, playing an integral part within the delivery of health services nationally. MSK practitioners work in diverse settings including emergency, rheumatology, persistent pain, paediatric and therapies, as well as in primary and community care and in MSK secondary care interface services.

Skills for Health is inviting feedback on a new core capability framework for MSK Advanced Practice and Governance. They are keen to hear from Advanced Practitioners, Advanced Practitioners in training, the wider healthcare team, employers, training providers, patients and carers to ensure the framework reflects what is needed in the sector.…

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NRAS Work survey

In July and August 2020, NRAS ran a survey asking about the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the working lives of people living with rheumatoid arthritis or another form of inflammatory arthritis.

The survey received 348 responses and a short report will be published next month. The overall picture is a concerning one: people reported that their career opportunities, in-work support and the understanding they experienced from colleagues and employers dropped slightly during lockdown. Asked about their expectations for the future, many expected this trend to get worse.…

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NICE guideline on workplace health

Workplace health: long-term sickness absence and capability to work

NICE published this final guideline on the NICE website. You can also find the supporting evidence, tools and resources as well as all the stakeholder comments NICE received during consultation and the responses to these comments.

The recommendations from this guideline have been included in the NICE Pathway on Managing long-term sickness absence and capability to work, which brings together everything NICE said on Workplace health: long-term sickness absence and capability to work in an interactive flowchart.…

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Conversation starters for MSD workplace discussions

A new resource on MSDs for workplaces – ‘Conversation Starters for workplace discussions on musculoskeletal disorders’ – is now available online from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).

This is an Occupational safety and health (OSH) resource for running workplace group discussions on MSDs and their prevention. Each activity includes an MSD scenario and a series of questions to facilitate discussion.

The discussion activities also cover raising MSD issues promptly with your employer, and how to speak with your employer/employee about an individual MSD problem, including an RMD – see conversation starters 9 to 12.…

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Coventry University’s research survey

Last year, ARMA members helped Glykeria Skamagki, the senior lecturer in Physiotherapy at Coventry University, with the first stage of a study into chronic musculoskeletal conditions and their management at the workplace. The results were very interesting and now to follow-up the researchers are conducting a survey to identify the strategies that older employees use to manage chronic musculoskeletal conditions at the workplace.

The aim is to understand the problems highlighted at the interview stage, explore the opinion of the larger population, and ultimately to help people work better.…

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NHS People Plan

One major criticism of the NHS Long Term Plan was the lack of any detail on workforce. This detail has begun to emerge with the publication of the Interim People Plan for the NHS. It looks at the need to transform the way the entire workforce, including doctors, nurses, allied health professionals (AHPs), pharmacists, healthcare scientists, dentists, non-clinical professions, social workers in the NHS, commissioners, non-executives and volunteers, work together. It works on the basis that multi-professional clinical teams will be the foundation of the future workforce, rather than treating the workforce as a group of separate professions.…

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