Welcome to Occupational Health

The University Occupational Health Service is a nurse-led service based in K25 Richmond Building. The service is delivered by Occupational Health Practitioners who are in the department on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of each week and an administrator who is available Monday to Thursday of each week. We hope you find the information on this site useful in understanding the service we provide.

If you have any feedback on this website or the OH service in general then it would be gratefully received as we seek to continue improving the service that we offer.  Please contact us with your feedback or any queries at OH-Enquiries@bradford.ac.uk or via the telephone numbers on our Contacts Page.

What is Occupational Health?

In 1951 the World Health Organisation described Occupational Health as 'promotion and maintenance of the physical, mental and social well-being of workers, by preventing departures from health, controlling risks and the adaptation of jobs to people and people to their jobs'. Despite this description being over 50 years old, and with the exception of the last 5 words, it still holds true as a global description of Occupational Health.

The main focus of the Occupational Health Service within the University is to ensure that staff are fit and healthy and that their health is not adversely affected by their job role or vice versa.

The Occupational Health team work with the other members of the University team, including Health and Safety, Personnel, managers and staff to improve the health and wellbeing of the workforce.

Where Occupational Health can help

We can support the University team in:

• Working to improve work organisation and the working environment
• Assessing fitness to work in line with the Sickness Absence Management Policy and pension regulations
• Advising on return to work programmes and temporary or permanent adjustments designed to assist University staff in making a successful and sustained return to their normal role or to an alternative role where this has been identified and agreed by the manager
• Advising staff on making healthy lifestyle changes to promote positive changes in their general health

What Occupational Health can't do

• We can't offer a diagnosis or treatment service. This is the role of Primary Care Services such as your GP surgery.
• We can't resolve management issues such as change management, workload issues and interpersonal relationship issues but can offer advice to staff whose health may be affected by their response to ongoing issues. The personnel team can offer advice and support to staff in addressing and resolving management issues
• We don't offer a counselling service but can offer initial advice on assessing and addressing issues which may be affecting your mental health.  For the University's Counselling Service please click here.