MSK & employment | ARMA

Guest blog: Why doesn’t it work?

by Dr Steven Boorman CBE, Director of Employee Health, Empactis,
Chair of the Council for Work and Health

As I head towards the milestone later this year of passing my thirtieth year in occupational health, I find myself optimistic mixed with the “glass half empty” of recognising that the same barriers remain in place: barriers to those who want to work with long term conditions. Over my career I have worked regularly with ARMA members and experts, and I have personal experience of working with a MSK condition.…

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Guest blog: Invisible disability at work

by Jane Green BSc. (HONS) Psych., PGCE, Av.Dip. Ed. Child Development, MA Ed. (Leadership and Management / autism)

Why did I stop working in my professional career?

Two-and-a-half years ago I medically retired. This was after years of pain following full dislocations; half-dislocations; sprains; tears in joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons; and arthritis. I received my diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome 3 (now hEDS) and associated conditions later that year.

As a child, I did have a few problems with joints and did ‘party tricks’.…

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ARMA Annual lecture: Dame Carol Black

Musculoskeletal conditions, disability and employment

Dame Carol Black is the outstanding expert advisor on health and work and principal of Newnham College Cambridge. Her lecture, delivered in London as part of the ARMA Annual Lecture series, was on progress to date by government, health professionals and employers on musculoskeletal conditions and their impact on employment and a person’s wellbeing.

The lecture and reception was well attended with an interesting Q&A session and lively twitter dialog using #MSKatWork.

You can watch the lecture on this page, where you can also find the accompanying slides for the presentation and photos from the event, or see the video directly via our YouTube channel.…

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Guest Blog: NHS Staff Survey – Looking after our healthcare staff

By Chris Graham, Chief Executive, Picker Institute Europe

Arguments about the pressures on the NHS at a system level are well rehearsed; rising demand, financial restraint, and challenges around staffing numbers are well reported. But what of the impact of caring on healthcare professionals as people?

The NHS Staff Survey is an annual survey that aims to help providers to understand how it feels to work in the health service. In 2016, it recorded the experiences of more than 423,000 members of NHS staff – and provides fascinating insight into the health and wellbeing of NHS staff.…

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Musculoskeletal toolkit launched to help employers support people with musculoskeletal conditions

ARMA worked with Public Health England and Business in the Community to develop a new toolkit for employers in the workplace, which launched at the Health and Wellbeing at Work Conference in the NEC today (7 March 2017). Musculoskeletal conditions are an important consideration for businesses as they are a leading cause of pain and disability in the UK, affecting many employees.

Musculoskeletal toolkit to help employers support people with MSK

ARMA is working with Public Health England and Business In The Community to develop a new toolkit for employers in the workplace, which launches in Spring/Summer 2017. Musculoskeletal conditions are an important consideration for businesses as they are a leading cause of pain and disability in the UK, affecting many employees.

The toolkit draws together information for employers to support staff in the prevention, early identification, management and adaptation for people affected by musculoskeletal conditions. The musculoskeletal toolkit is a simple step-by-step guide dealing with back, neck, muscle and joint pain at work.…

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ARMA Response to Improving Lives: The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper

Our response to the UK Government consultation

ARMA welcomes the recognition in the Improving Lives: The Work, Health and Disability Paper of the need to address musculoskeletal conditions and work.

Musculoskeletal conditions are among the commonest causes of people’s inability to work and, as evidenced in the Global Burden of Disease study (2015), are the single biggest cause of pain and disability in the UK. Less than two-thirds of working age people with musculoskeletal conditions are in work. MSK conditions are the leading cause of sickness absence, resulting in 30.6 million working days lost each year and one in five visits to the GP.…

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