Help is at hand
April 1st 2007 An occupational health toolkit has been introduced by IOSH to help non-medical practitioners play a greater role in tackling illness and absence caused by occupational health issues The toolkit is a free, interactive web-based tool that, initially, will cover stress and musculoskeletal disorders, but will in future be extended to cover inhalation hazards and skin disorders. Neil Budworth, IOSH immediate past president, who initiated the project, says "If things continue as they are, people will continue to be made ill by their work. "The toolkit aims to support the government's Health, Work and Well Being Strategy by providing nonmedical practitioners with the practical tools to recognise the early signs of work-related ill health, so that they can make appropriate decisions on the next steps to take and better participate in multidisciplinary working. "This is not an attempt to turn health and safety practitioners into occupational health experts. For many of the occupational health problems we're talking about, you don't need to be a doctor to see something is wrong – if someone has dermatitis, you can see the reddening on their skin. "What the toolkit is about is allowing nonmedics to identify the early stages of ill-health more quickly, make appropriate interventions or refer someone to the right expert." The toolkit also aims to help practitioners explain suggested courses of action to managers, who may otherwise be reluctant to take people 'off the job' More articles from IOSH: | 
