TY - JOUR

T1 - Perception and provision of occupational health services in the UK

AU - Lian, P.C.S.

AU - Laing, A.W.

PY - 2007/10

Y1 - 2007/10

N2 - Background: There is difficulty in defining occupational health services among stakeholders of the service. Concurrently, there are concerns about the state of occupational health provision in the UK. Aims To determine stakeholders' perception of the services that occupational health encompasses and the level as well as the rationale behind the provision of these services. Methods: The research was undertaken as a postal questionnaire survey of the FTSE 350 companies and selected public sector organizations in the UK. This was followed up by telephone calls to a random selection of non-respondents to obtain non-respondent data. Results: There is a difference in opinion among managers and occupational health professionals about the services provided by occupational health. Taking into account non-respondent data to partially adjust for overestimation biases, the level of provision of occupational health services among the FTSE 350 companies is 69% and in public sector organizations is 95%, giving an average provision of 72%. Sixteen per cent of respondents thought there was a trend towards outsourcing of services. The most frequently cited reason for provision of an occupational health service was that it was for the benefit of employees. Conclusions: There remains room for improvement in the level of occupational health services provision in large UK private sector organizations. By bridging the gap between the different stakeholders' perceptions of the remit and benefits of the service, a higher level of provision in the private sector similar to that of public sector organizations can be achieved. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved.

AB - Background: There is difficulty in defining occupational health services among stakeholders of the service. Concurrently, there are concerns about the state of occupational health provision in the UK. Aims To determine stakeholders' perception of the services that occupational health encompasses and the level as well as the rationale behind the provision of these services. Methods: The research was undertaken as a postal questionnaire survey of the FTSE 350 companies and selected public sector organizations in the UK. This was followed up by telephone calls to a random selection of non-respondents to obtain non-respondent data. Results: There is a difference in opinion among managers and occupational health professionals about the services provided by occupational health. Taking into account non-respondent data to partially adjust for overestimation biases, the level of provision of occupational health services among the FTSE 350 companies is 69% and in public sector organizations is 95%, giving an average provision of 72%. Sixteen per cent of respondents thought there was a trend towards outsourcing of services. The most frequently cited reason for provision of an occupational health service was that it was for the benefit of employees. Conclusions: There remains room for improvement in the level of occupational health services provision in large UK private sector organizations. By bridging the gap between the different stakeholders' perceptions of the remit and benefits of the service, a higher level of provision in the private sector similar to that of public sector organizations can be achieved. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved.

KW - Cost benefit

KW - Occupational health management

KW - Occupational health provision

KW - article

KW - health personnel attitude

KW - human

KW - manager

KW - occupational health service

KW - organization and management

KW - personnel management

KW - priority journal

KW - resource allocation

KW - resource management

KW - United Kingdom

KW - workman compensation

KW - Delivery of Health Care

KW - Great Britain

KW - Health Care Surveys

KW - Humans

KW - Occupational Health Services

U2 - 10.1093/occmed/kqm052

DO - 10.1093/occmed/kqm052

M3 - Journal article

VL - 57

SP - 472

EP - 479

JO - Occupational Medicine

JF - Occupational Medicine

SN - 0962-7480

IS - 7

ER -