New SEQOHS accreditation standards for OH due this autumn

New standards have been launched for SEQOHS, the occupational health accreditation scheme, which will come into effect from November.

The standards have been unveiled today at the annual conference of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM), which runs SEQOHS (the Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Service), and SOM, the Society of Occupational Medicine.

According to Christina Butterworth, chair of the Faculty of Occupational Health Nursing (FOHN), the accreditation standards “have been developed to provide a greater focus on outcomes and outputs, as well as the quality expected of occupational health services.”

The standards will also form part of the new FOHN Quality Framework and Guidance due for launch later this year, she added.

The development of the updated standards began last year, including a consultation of the profession and incorporating input from government, regulators, trade unions, purchasers, and in-house and commercial OH services.

The standards cover areas such as governance and finance, resources and processes, outputs and outcomes, information and communication, and quality assurance and improvement. There are also sector-specific standards for the NHS, police and construction.

Separately, FOM has launched two new guidance documents for healthcare professionals in the workplace.

They are addressing the management of upper-limb disorders in working-age people and supporting individuals back to work after Carpal Tunnel Release surgery.

The documents have been accompanied by the production of a document summarising the occupational health principles for healthcare professionals.

Consultant physician Dr Nadia Sheikh, who led on the work for the faculty, said: “We want to provide concise evidence-based guidance for healthcare professionals who are assisting patients with work-related concerns.

“We also hope the occupational health principles document will provide the underpinning principles of occupational medicine in a format that multi-disciplinary colleagues such as GPs will find useful.”