Veterinary Practices In UK Need Good Access To Occupational Health

Main Category: Veterinary
Article Date: 27 Jul 2009 - 19:00 PDT

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Staff working in UK veterinary practices lack access to good occupational health advice warns a new study published in the scientific journal, Occupational Medicine. The research, the first published benchmark of occupational health risk management by vet practices in the UK, showed that despite veterinary surgeons and nurses being exposed to many occupational hazards less than a third of practices had trained staff in health and safety and only 14% sought advice from occupational health professionals.

Veterinary medicine is a hazardous occupation with risks ranging from animal bites, needle stick injuries, asthma and eczema, to workplace stress. The paper published in the Society of Occupational Medicine's journal looked particularly at the management of health and safety in small animal practices. The researchers undertook a cross-sectional postal survey with a sample of 118 practices. 78% were part of a group-practice structure with the remainder being independent.

Reassuringly, all practices had implemented good control measures for animal bites which represented the commonest injury to veterinary workers. Similarly practices were good at recognising and dealing with the risks from radiography. However, there was confusion amongst practices about how to deal with workers who developed asthma or eczema due to working with animals. Workers also need advice on other workplace allergens such as latex gloves, lifting animals, safe needlestick disposal and practice and the need for good ventilation when using anaesthetic equipment and safe needlestick disposal and practice.

A separate paper published in the same journal looked at the psychological working conditions and work related stress in UK veterinary surgeons. This study from researchers at the University of Southampton found that work demands including long hours, difficult working patterns and the fact that many workers had little in the way of managerial support meant that they had a higher risks of some types of work related stress than in the general population. The possibility of making professional mistakes resulting in client complaints or litigation contributed to this.

Practices need to ensure that they are aware of the current guidance produced by professional bodies such as the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and ensure that they have a clear understanding of their health and safety duties and the control measures that they can put in place. More importantly, they need access to good occupational health advice when needed.
v "Many veterinary surgeries are small businesses and therefore have difficulty accessing occupational health services and innovative solutions are needed to address this. For businesses like veterinary surgeries, occupational health should not be seen as an 'add on' but as an essential service." Said Dr Tony Stevens, President of the Society of Occupational Medicine "Employers, occupational health professionals, primary care teams, benefits advisers and others associated with workplace wellbeing need to be able to work together to provide help to small businesses. The 'Fit for Work' service proposed in the Government's recent review may well be part of the answer but only if we increase the provision and accessibility of occupational health services."

A survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development revealed that the average cost of absence to business is £666 per employee per year. Even small employers who invest a proportion of that in the health of their staff will reap the rewards financially by reducing sickness absence and by having a more dedicated and committed healthy workforce.

Occupational health doctors and nurses are trained to undertake risk assessments in the workplace. By understanding the nature of the work and the specific tasks that someone does in veterinary practice they can help prevent work related ill health and advise on appropriate policies to maintain a safe workplace. If a vet or nurse does become unwell they can also help them to return to work quickly.

Source
Society of Occupational Medicine

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