Behaviour of occupational health services during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ranka, S; Quigley, J; Hussain, T

BACKGROUND: Disasters, crises and pandemics are emergencies which impact on businesses severely. The COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak in mid-April 2020 in the UK. During this period, NHS Occupational Health Services (OHS) were stretched to their limit along with other health services. OHS may have had to change their pattern of operation, operating times, services offered, etc. to cope with the pandemic. Data about business model modifications, services offered by the OHS businesses during the pandemic could help in better utilization of OHS resources in the future. AIMS: To understand the behaviour of OHS in different parts of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: An online survey link was sent to both accredited and unaccredited UK Occupational Health Physicians (OHPs). RESULTS: Sixty-two OHPs responded to the survey. In the current pandemic, 51% of the OHS (95% CI 0.38–0.62) offered weekend or out-of-hours (OOH) services, 21% had to employ extra staff (95% CI 0.13–0.33) and 54% had to change their working hours (95% CI 0.41–0.65). Ninety per cent of the OHS (95% CI 0.78–0.94) continued to offer routine services; however, there was a decline in offering vaccination services. Fifty-six per cent of the OHS (95% CI 0.42–0.67) offered a dedicated telephone line and 46% of the OHS (95% CI 0.32–0.56) started a dedicated COVID-19 queries inbox. CONCLUSIONS: There was a change in the behaviour of the OHS to cope with the pandemic. Having a dedicated helpline to manage the crisis situation seemed a logical step whilst offering routine services.