Agenda
09.15 - 10.00
Welcome drinks, networking & exhibition stands
10.00 - 12.00
Conference sessions - your choice of speakers
12.00 - 12.45
Lunch provided & exhibition stands
12.45 - 15.45
Conference sessions - your choice of speakers
15.45 - 16.00 Closing remarks
We are delighted to welcome you to our first EOPH conference. EOPH is a social enterprise whose aim is to support the professional development needs of occupational health professionals. Many of you will have participated in our courses and we have lots of exciting new developments coming in 2024.
Sessions
In this workshop Mark Landon will focus on implementing reasonable adjustments in the workplace, in the context of some common challenging scenarios such as:
Sick absence management and ‘trigger points’ for warnings and the consideration of dismissal
Performance management, including identifying where this might result from underlying health or disability as well as OH guidance on effective performance improvement plans
Underlying medical conditions contributing to supposed misconduct, e.g. where ‘disruptive’ workplace behaviour results from neurodivergence
Employment Law Specialist
Ergonomic Principles of Complex DSE
Have you undertaken a Display Screen Equipment risk assessment that has not been straight forward or complicated and wondered if there was anything more you could have done? Or have you wondered how to select the correct equipment such as a chair for someone with an underlying health issue?
Understanding the principles of ergonomics can help you. This session will cover the basic principles of ergonomics, what they mean and how you can apply them to your future DSE assessments. This will help with your decision making when making recommendations and offering advice for your future DSE assessments that are not straightforward.
Sarah is a chartered physiotherapist with specialist qualifications in applied ergonomics with almost 20 years experience in occupational health practice, across a wide range of sectors, including pharmaceutical companies, the nuclear sector and Government departments (MOD and DVLA).
As a senior physiotherapist working with multi-disciplinary occupational health provider companies, and as the musculo-skeletal lead for Cordell Health Ltd, Sarah sees management referrals for specialist occupational health advice and assessment of fitness to return for work, with an emphasis on the requirements for manual handling and working at display screen equipment (DSE) workstations. She undertakes ergonomic workplace assessments for manual handling, DSE and upper limb disorders, and provides training in manual handling for users and assessors of DSE.
What should Audiometry Health Surveillance look like for the 21st Century
Discover the significance of audiometric examinations, both objective and subjective, in occupational health surveillance. Objective tests such as OAE, ABR, and Middle Ear measures will be explored for their use in occupational assessments, as will subjective tests such as Air Conduction (AC), Bone Conduction (BC), Speech, REM measures, and VNG measurements. Uncover the significance of obtaining
consistent and accurate AC test results, as well as the 2021 HSE guideline revisions that aim to ensure a healthier workforce. Gain useful insights, best practises, and technological breakthroughs to help influence the future of hearing health surveillance.
Finola is an occupational physician with experience in the delivery of comprehensive occupational health services across diverse sectors including healthcare, higher education, local government, and public health. Also an Honorary Lecturer at University College London, she holds expertise in the field of hearing research.
She notably published a novel study in the esteemed Journal of Voice, delving into the effects of rehearsal sound exposure on the hearing of choir singers. Her influence extends beyond academia, as she has co-authored pivotal guidance on hearing conservation within the performing arts domain. This guidance stands as a crucial resource for individuals working in sound-rich environments.
Clean Language Coaching and First Response
Clean language coaching is a powerful tool that can help individuals to think more deeply and creatively about their challenges. Developed by Maori PTSD psychotherapist David Grove in the 1970’s and 1980’s to support his work.
“The ‘I’ of the facilitator should almost cease to exist.” David
GroveClean Language: designed to help people explore their own issues and create connections in their minds that allow them to heal more readily. It can be used to discover the underlying rules, express values, and coping mechanisms for an individual, and to gain clarity and promote awareness of self-actualisation and solution focused responses.
In this session, we will introduce the 12 basic Clean Language questions and how they are used to coach self-awareness, independence, and emotional control. We will also discuss how Clean Language can be used as a first response to crisis awareness, create an awareness and deeper engagement in what’s going on for others, and to support individual development. We will focus specifically on the use of clean language with neurologically divergent individuals.
Dom is a certified NLP Master Practitioner, Counsellor, HighPerformance Leadership Coach and Systems Thinking and Complexity Facilitator. He has worked in business consultancy across all three sectors, and throughout Europe. His focus these days is in Neurodiversity, inclusion and engagement, as having been diagnosed with both ADHD and Autism, he has first hand experience in this area. His experiences coupled with his leadership development, culture change and learning, led him to create a human first organisation called Innate Change –Facilitating Difference.
Dom Keohane
Speaker, Coach & Facilitator
Occupational Health and AI - has the future arrived?
Every day we hear of new applications for technological wizardry and in particular the place of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality and Big Data!
Paul will explore how this will change the ways we work and the tools we use in OH practice, but also the impact on our clients and patients. Hopefully delegates can join in the discussion as we speculate about changes that have started happening already and likely to accelerate!
Paul graduated from Leeds in 1982 and left general practice to train in occupational medicine in 2001.
He trained in the police, NHS, and various small businesses, completing his MFOM and CCT at Jaguar Landrover in 2006. He was CMO and Global Head of Health, Safety and Environment at JCB before joining Maximus in 2015 as CMO for disability
assessment. Since 2018, he has been the UK President for Maximus overseeing a range of services including Occupational Health services, Access to Work, Employability programmes such as the Work and Health Programme for DWP as well as work rehabilitation for offenders and new migrants to UK.
Paul taught various OM courses on the Manchester University programme for a number of years, was SOM President in 2017 and has taught candidates for the AFOM examination.
Working Skin Picture Quiz
In this session we will explore a number of interesting and varied occupational working skin cases though the medium of an interactive, team-based clinical picture quiz.
Katrin is a freelance occupational health physician with an interest in work-related skin problems and she is passionate about caring for working skin.
Since 2013, Katrin has been employed as a speciality doctor in dermatology in a tertiary NHS dermatology centre and has worked as a clinical lecturer in dermatology for Cardiff University. In addition to her NHS, general occupational physician and medical education work, she runs a weekly occupational skin clinic for a large NHS organisation in Wales. She is the lead clinician for their skin surveillance programme and provides advice on both the clinical management and workplace adjustments for employees with work-related skin problems.
Katrin has worked as a clinical lecturer in dermatology and completed a certificate in higher education training with Harvard University in 2020. Drawing on these skills, she creates and delivers high-quality, interactive, educational courses for healthcare professionals in her role as a medical educator.
Talking About Suicide: The Why and The How?
Research indicates that if more appropriate questions about suicide were more frequently asked by OH professionals, that the management of employees with distress and depression could be improved (NHS PLUS, FOM, RCP 2009). Anecdotal evidence shows that many OH professionals say that they have received insufficient training on the subject of mental illness or how to complete a mental health consultation. This intense one-hour session will provide the basis for such crucial skills.
Setting the context; what is MH & how does it influence us?
Overcoming stigma & barriers to help-seeking behaviour
Raising the topic of suicide
Assessing for and responding to suicidal thoughts
Libby is an Independent Occupational Health Nurse Practitioner, Workplace Wellbeing Specialist and trainer in Stress & Mental Health. She is the Author of the book “Mental Health in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Occupational Health Practitioners on Consultation and Report Writing”, published in March 2022.
She combines her working knowledge of HR and H&S with evidence-based mental health-related training across many business sectors. She is the owner of Mindshift Consultancy, a graduate member of IOSH, an active member of the Society of Occupational Medicine and Director of mental health and wellbeing for iOH, (formerly the Association of OH Nurse Practitioners).
She gained a distinction in her MSc in Workplace Health & Wellbeing and has certificates in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Stress, Counselling Skills and suicide intervention. She jointly updated the chapter on mental health in Greta Thornbory’s book, Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing and is a regular speaker at wellbeing-related conferences.
Libby is passionate about reducing the negative, stigmatising attitudes that remain around mental ill-health and is a firm believer in workplaces providing a proactive and supportive culture around this subject.
Exhibitors
Amplivox
Amplivox are an ISO 13485 accredited company based in the UK. Established in 1935, Amplivox has 85 years of proven experience in the design, manufacture, supply and support of medical equipment on a global basis. The range has been extended to include a full range of OH equipment, accredited training and calibration services for most OH equipment.
Neil has worked for Amplivox for over 30 years in the specification, development and supply of audiological equipment on a global basis. He likes nothing better than to take an idea through to delivery to meet client requirements and see the real life changes that the solution can have for patients.
Raiys Wellbeing
We provide Corporate holistic health & wellbeing programmes delivered digitally through our Raiys App. The team at Raiys work with all sizes of businesses in all sectors, ranging from 10 employees up to circa 200,000 employees.
The services we provide identify common health themes through intuitive reporting. We offer personalised assessments, tailored support and content, and behavioural change tools to create more positive measurable health outcomes.
Innovation is at the heart of our business and Raiys has a collaborative team of developers and expert clinicians to ensure the services we provide not only support our clients’ current needs but also address future challenges they may have.
Achieva Group Limited
Achieva is a well-established recruitment company with over 30 years’ experience recruiting within the occupational health, pharmaceutical and the energy, construction, and health and safety industries.
https://achieva.co.uk/
Mindshift Consultancy
Since 2016, Mindshift Consultancy has been providing expert guidance, support and education to enable organisations to create and maintain a healthy and productive workforce. This is achieved via tailored and off-the-shelf courses within organisations and also to Occupational Health Practitioners.
Online Ergonomics
Online Ergonomics supplies ergonomic seating, desks, office accessories and assistive technology solutions. From their modern, purpose-built offices and warehouse in Beccles, Suffolk, Online Ergonomics utilises a fleet of vehicles and their own trained and experienced installers to deliver and install goods and provide after-sales services throughout the UK. Online Ergonomics are one of the leading distributors of office and specialised DSE equipment across the UK to end user clients and resellers, offering solutions to other ergonomic resellers to meet the needs of their clients.
Online Ergonomics also provide training in the use of equipment and software through their national network of accredited trainers and software engineers.
Online Ergonomics Limited is proud to have worked alongside many Government, Access To Work (ATW), educatonal (DSA), financial, health care and ‘blue-chip’ companies for many years. As part of the growth of the company, Online Ergonomics offers a nationwide assessment service. The assessment service allows the client the opportunity to have their staff attended to on a case-by-case basis ensuring a full holistic approach. The added piece of mind with the assessment service is to ensure that education around DSE best practices is provided with any on site adjustments made whilst performing the assessment. This assessment model allows our clients full peace of mind and ensures that only necessary product recommendations are made.
