Behaviour of occupational health services during the COVID-19 pandemic
| Autor: | T Hussain, J Quigley, S Ranka |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Working hours
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pneumonia Viral Occupational Health Services Telephone line Occupational safety and health Betacoronavirus 03 medical and health sciences Health services 0302 clinical medicine Pandemic Humans Medicine AcademicSubjects/MED00640 030212 general & internal medicine occupational physicians Pandemics Accreditation Original Paper SARS-CoV-2 business.industry pandemic Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health COVID-19 medicine.disease 030210 environmental & occupational health Helpline Medical emergency Coronavirus Infections business |
| Zdroj: | Occupational Medicine Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England) |
| ISSN: | 1471-8405 0962-7480 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/occmed/kqaa085 |
| Popis: | 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. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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