ORR Health Programme 2010 - 2014

John GillespieARIOPS conference 18 October 2010

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ORR health programme

• Purpose To promote and deliver our vision of an industry that

consistently achieves best practice in occupational health.

• Aims External

• Change how health is led and managed by organisations in the rail industry

Internal• Change how health is regulated by ORR

• Covers The effect of work on health. Fitness for work. General well-being including health and lifestyle, sickness

absence management and rehabilitation.

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Why have a health programme?

Extent of the health problem in all GB industry (including railways) is sizable and costly:

• 1.2 million people working during the last year were suffering from an illness (long standing or new cases) they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work. 551 000 of these were new cases.

• 29.3 million days were lost overall (1.24 days per worker), 24.6 million (84%) due to work-related ill health and 4.7 million due to workplace injury.

• Around 4000 deaths from asbestos related cancers annually.

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Why have a health programme in railways?

• But, low number of reports of ill-health (RIDDOR)

• In the railway sector, between 2003 and June 2009 there were 48 recorded occupational health reports and 175 upper limb injuries

• Should we be concerned? Under-reporting suspected. Formal diagnosis by a doctor before reporting is

required. Lack of reliable information on health management.

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Why have a health programme?

• Evidence from listening To our staff in contact with companies Health professionals in companies Trade Unions & other stakeholders

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Why have a health programme?

• Our view Variable practice and patchy compliance with the

law Too many companies with not enough knowledge Few with occupational health advisor directly

employed Relative importance reduced over 10 years to now

being “almost a vocation for individuals rather than actively managed and resourced by most companies”

Civil claims increasing Potential for economic and performance benefits

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Why have a programme?

• There are health risks present: Musculoskeletal disorders Stress Cardiovascular diseases Vibration Noise Substances hazardous to health, e.g isocyanates Lead Asbestos Microbiological hazards

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Health risks present…lead, noise, vibration, isocyanates in bridge stripping & repainting

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What is in the ORR health programme• Purpose

To promote and deliver our vision of an industry that consistently achieves best practice in occupational health.

• Aims External

• Change how health is led and managed by organisations in the rail industry

Internal• Improve how health is regulated by ORR

• Covers The effect of work on health. Suitability of individuals for work. General health management – lifestyle, sickness absence

management and rehabilitation.

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Change how health is led and managed• Encourage

Industry leadership Awareness of the issues Excellence in management

• Competence

• Health advice for managers

• Compliance

• Use of health data

• Monitoring

• Sharing information

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How to make the change?

• Leadership Encourage Industry set up a Health Leadership Forum

• Awareness Incentives – Reputation, publicity, awards &

recognition Using partners, such as institutions Web information including case studies of benefits

• Excellence in management Inspect companies and judge them using our

management maturity model Focus on health assistance and risk assessment Enforce where necessary and publicise

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Top 10 Activities

• Baseline paper

• Gathering of case studies

• Raising competence internally

• Promotion of occupational health / leadership & management

• Constructing Better Health

• Gathering/use of health data

• Strategic monitoring

• Inspection activities

• Web pages and web links – information provision

• An event on Worker’s Memorial Day

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Activity – 2010-11 plan

Excellence in management Network Rail

• SMS audit inspection of health risk management

• Check on bridge refurbishment work.

Train operators• Occupational health management at eight TOCs

• Control of noise in freight class 66 cabs

• SMS audit inspection of health risk management of London Underground, focusing on asbestos.

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Summary

• Our vision is an industry that consistently achieves best practice in occupational health

• Programme aims to Change how health is led and managed by

organisations in the rail industry Improve how health is regulated by ORR

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Contact Us

www.rail-reg.gov.uk

John Gillespie – 0207 282 3763

Chair of Programme Board

Dr Claire Dickinson – 0207 282 3742

Programme Manager

Claire.dickinson@orr.gsi.gov.uk