Health and Work

1

• Health and Work
• - Looking to the future
• Dr Bill Gunnyeon
• Director- Health, Work and Wellbeing
• Department for Work and Pensions

2
Plan

• Setting the context
• Links between work and health
• The challenge
• - for Society
• - for organisations
• Addressing the challenge
• What Government is doing
• Implications for Fire and Rescue Services

3
Health and Work The Statistics 1

• Size of working age population 31 million
• Number of people unemployed lt1 million
• Number on Incapacity Benefit 2.6 million
• Number who report sick each week 1 million
• - 3000 still off at 6 months
• - 2400 will not work again in next 5 years
• Working days lost attributed to work related
  Illness
• Injury 35 million
• People with disabilities who are in work 3.4
  million

4
Health and Work The Statistics 2
Average Life Expectancy - Males - Females People aged between 50 and 69 - Today - 2024 Ratio of people working to people in retirement - Today - 2050 Percentage of Adult Life in Retirement (Males) - 1950 - 2005 83 86 13 million 15.9 million 41 21 18 30.7
5
Health and Work The Statistics 3

• 90 of people entering IB expect to return to
  work
• After 12 months on benefit average duration of
  claim is 8 years
• After 2 years more likely to retire or die than
  return to work
• Around half of claimants are over 50
• 40 of new claimants suffer from mental health
  problems

6
Health and Work The Links

• Being out of work leads to
• - poorer health
• - psychological distress
• - increased visits to GPs
• Returning to work
• - improves general health
• - improves mental health
• - reduces psychological distress
• Work has potential to cause or worsen health
  problems
• For most people with health problems returning to
  appropriate work is beneficial

7
Our challenge as a Society

• We need
• To increase employment to 80 from current 75
• More people in work
• People at work for more of the time
• People able to work to a later age
• People with health problems and disabilities able
  to return to work
• Work seen as important for peoples health and
  wellbeing

8
The challenge for organisations

• To create working environments which are
• - safe
• - healthy
• - and where people want to work
• To have people at work for more of the time
• To have people more effective when at work
• To have people able to work to at least normal
  retirement age
• To have people with health conditions
• - able to remain in work
• - or return to work as quickly as possible

9
Addressing The Challenge

• Supporting people in making choices to improve
  general health
• Ensuring people do not suffer illness or injury
  as a result of the work they do
• Investigating and treating people quickly and
  effectively
• Helping people better manage health conditions
• Ensuring rehabilitation and return to work
  support
• Adapting work to meet peoples changing needs
  with age

10
What is Government doing

• Pathways pilots and Condition Management
  Programmes
• Collaboration with Health Departments and HSE
• Health, Work and Wellbeing Strategy
• A new deal for welfare empowering people to
  work
• Appointment of National Director for Health and
  Work
• Stakeholder Summit
• Evidence Review of Work and Health

11

12
What is Government doing

• Pathways pilots and Condition Management
  Programmes
• Collaboration with Health Departments and HSE
• Health, Work and Wellbeing Strategy
• A new deal for welfare empowering people to
  work
• Appointment of National Director for Health and
  Work
• Stakeholder Summit
• Evidence Review of Work and Health

13
Our Vision

• To have created an environment where the health
  and wellbeing of those in work and all those who
  wish to work is actively promoted, supported and
  valued.

14
Implications for Fire and Rescue Services

• Creating opportunities to improve health
• Being proactive in reducing incidence of work
  related illness and injury
• Addressing organisational issues
• Careful assessment of conditions which impact on
  fitness for firefighting
• Supporting where possible people with health
  conditions to remain in work
• Providing access to simple interventions for
  common health problems
• Facilitating return to work following illness or
  injury
• Supporting people to work to a later age
• Appropriate attendance management policies

15

Hes renowned for his speed, his success rate
and his list he takes over three hundred cases
a year. Some fail, a handful endure with their
lights fogged, but most thrive, and many return
to work in some form work the ultimate badge
of health. Ian
McEwan Saturday