Careers
If you would like to write for our careers section email the editor at [email protected] or @NScareersEd
Nurses who work part time may experience reduced access to occupational health services, especially if they work night shifts. Petra Kendall-Raynor investigates
NHS staff wellbeing has been high on the agenda since the Boorman review concluded that many organisations made insufficient investment in this area of employee welfare. Last year’s RCN employment survey revealed differences across sectors in terms of nurses’ access to occupational health (OH) support (see box). A survey of 2,009 working adults in the UK published last year by health and safety experts Croner claimed that employers may be less effective in promoting OH programmes to part-time staff than to full-time employees. More than 28 per cent of respondents working full time said they do not receive OH services, but this rises to 42 per cent among part-time staff.
Self-referral
ALAMY
CARERS NEED CARE TOO
Part-time workers may find it more difficult to receive help than full-time colleagues
RCN senior employment relations adviser Kim Sunley says one issue highlighted by the Boorman review was the importance of staff self-referral to OH services in addition to management referral. ‘Nurses may be anxious about approaching their employer to be referred,’ she says. ‘Part-time
Percentage of healthcare staff with access to occupational health support Social enterprises NHS community organisations NHS hospitals GP practices Independent sector care homes Full time staff Part time staff Source: RCN Employment Survey 2013
64% 60% 59% 29% 16% 56% 50%
workers may not be able to access services during working hours if they work night shifts. They may also have difficulty if their organisation covers several different sites across a wide geographical area.’ Ms Sunley adds that details about OH services should be part of an employer induction programme: ‘Where an organisation looks after the health and wellbeing of its employees, there are better patient outcomes.’ A spokesperson for Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which has faced several inquiries about poor patient care, says its staff learn about OH services during their induction and claims that full-time and part-time staff have exactly the same access. The OH department also has a page on the trust’s intranet that can be accessed by all staff. Likewise, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, one of
England’s largest trusts, has its own dedicated OH website. The trust’s work and wellbeing team organises health promotion days to raise awareness of services. Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners (UK) professional development director Greta Thornbory says nurses should be proactive: ‘Nurses should access the intranet and ask what is available when they have their inductions’ NS Petra Kendall-Raynor is a freelance journalist RESOURCES RCN Employment Survey 2013 tinyurl.com/RCNES2013 National Care Forum staff survey 2013 tinyurl.com/NCFPersonnelreport Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners tinyurl.com/l525hou
NURSING august 20 other :: voluses 28 no 51 :: permission. 2014 63 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 20, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
If you would like to write for our careers section email the editor at [email protected] or @NScareersEd
Nurses who work part time may experience reduced access to occupational health services, especially if they work night shifts. Petra Kendall-Raynor investigates
NHS staff wellbeing has been high on the agenda since the Boorman review concluded that many organisations made insufficient investment in this area of employee welfare. Last year’s RCN employment survey revealed differences across sectors in terms of nurses’ access to occupational health (OH) support (see box). A survey of 2,009 working adults in the UK published last year by health and safety experts Croner claimed that employers may be less effective in promoting OH programmes to part-time staff than to full-time employees. More than 28 per cent of respondents working full time said they do not receive OH services, but this rises to 42 per cent among part-time staff.
Self-referral
ALAMY
CARERS NEED CARE TOO
Part-time workers may find it more difficult to receive help than full-time colleagues
RCN senior employment relations adviser Kim Sunley says one issue highlighted by the Boorman review was the importance of staff self-referral to OH services in addition to management referral. ‘Nurses may be anxious about approaching their employer to be referred,’ she says. ‘Part-time
Percentage of healthcare staff with access to occupational health support Social enterprises NHS community organisations NHS hospitals GP practices Independent sector care homes Full time staff Part time staff Source: RCN Employment Survey 2013
64% 60% 59% 29% 16% 56% 50%
workers may not be able to access services during working hours if they work night shifts. They may also have difficulty if their organisation covers several different sites across a wide geographical area.’ Ms Sunley adds that details about OH services should be part of an employer induction programme: ‘Where an organisation looks after the health and wellbeing of its employees, there are better patient outcomes.’ A spokesperson for Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, which has faced several inquiries about poor patient care, says its staff learn about OH services during their induction and claims that full-time and part-time staff have exactly the same access. The OH department also has a page on the trust’s intranet that can be accessed by all staff. Likewise, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, one of
England’s largest trusts, has its own dedicated OH website. The trust’s work and wellbeing team organises health promotion days to raise awareness of services. Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners (UK) professional development director Greta Thornbory says nurses should be proactive: ‘Nurses should access the intranet and ask what is available when they have their inductions’ NS Petra Kendall-Raynor is a freelance journalist RESOURCES RCN Employment Survey 2013 tinyurl.com/RCNES2013 National Care Forum staff survey 2013 tinyurl.com/NCFPersonnelreport Association of Occupational Health Nurse Practitioners tinyurl.com/l525hou
NURSING august 20 other :: voluses 28 no 51 :: permission. 2014 63 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 20, 2015. For personal use only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
