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Summary of Actions
Spearheading Change
1 We will bring together Scotland's Health at Work, Safe and Healthy Working and NHS Health Scotland's workplace health team into a single, integrated organisation, provisionally called the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives ( para 3.7 refers).
2 We will draw together a small group of stakeholders with a knowledge of workplace health, including representatives from business, statutory, representative and professional groups to inform the structure, branding, remit and objectives of this new unit and ensure that it is able to drive the delivery of Healthy Working Lives ( para 3.8 refers).
Pilot Programmes
3 We will agree a series of specific pilot projects to test proactive engagement to promote Healthy Working Lives in particular industry sectors and among groups of workers with specific occupational health and safety challenges, including socioeconomic deprivation
( para 4.9 refers).
4 The Scottish Executive Health Department will explore with the Department for Work and Pensions and other partners, opportunities for piloting a vocational rehabilitation service within GP surgeries ( para 5.13 refers).
5 We will pilot the development of personal health and development plans for a nominated target group and a service offering targeted rehabilitation services for people who come into contact with clinical services through work-related conditions ( para 5.14 refers).
6 As part of the National Programme's Action Plan on Mental Health 2003-06, we will implement pilot projects on job retention for people who develop mental health problems ( para 4.10 refers).
7 We will develop a national framework for employee health screening services that meets the aspirations of the wider Healthy Working Lives agenda. This will be tested in a range of workplace settings and be linked, as appropriate, to GPs and local support services ( para 5.15 refers).
Delivering Benefits
8 We will refresh published guidance on workplace health and safety issues and extend the range of available guidance to refect the extended scope of the strategy for Healthy Working Lives ( para 4.11 refers).
9 We will rationalise existing contact points and establish a consistently branded and marketed support service through a single, integrated set of telephone, web and field-based access channels for both business and individuals ( para 5.11 refers).
10 We will appoint an employability co-ordinator whose role it will be to provide an effective link between Scottish employers and the range of voluntary and statutory groups working to promote employment and self employment of those with health-related problems ( para 4.12 refers).
11 We will review the qualifying criteria for the current SHAW awards in light of the broader direction and priorities identified within this plan and related health improvement strategies. As part of this process we will also revisit how the success of the SHAW framework can best be measured in the workplace setting (para 4.13 refers).
12 We will work with the business community to identify additional support that can be given to businesses to introduce effective tobacco policies in order to protect the health of their workforce ( para 4.15 refers).
Engaging Widely
13 We will explore how links to ethnic minority and diverse communities groups, including local voluntary organisation councils that exist outwith the traditional framework for accessing health and employment services, can be further established to secure wider engagement with the Healthy Working Lives strategy ( para 5.16 refers).
14 We will engage with the RCN Occupational Health Nurses Group, the Faculty and Society of Occupational Medicine, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and other professional groups to establish how links can be developed with the wider occupational health community to harness their support for development and implementation of this strategy ( para 5.12 refers).
15 We will develop links with individual Executive departments to adopt a cross-cutting approach to the promotion and support of employability amongst disadvantaged health groups ( para 5.17 refers).
16 NHSScotland, COSLA and the Scottish Executive will drive and oversee the delivery of Healthy Working Lives for staff within their respective organisations ( para 6.17 refers).
Evidence and Assessment
17 We will review the international evidence base on Healthy Working Lives and identify future research priorities, including the build-up of a library of best practice case studies in order to develop the business case for healthy workplace cultures ( para 4.14 refers).
18 We will fund a mapping exercise of existing employer/employee occupational health services across Scotland to determine current capacity and gaps in service provision and inform future national plans and community planning priorities ( para 5.10 refers).
19 We will work with the Health & Safety Executive to establish a baseline of information about current practice within Scottish employers covering access to occupational health and safety services, policies on substance misuse, health promotion approaches in the workplace and other health issues and approaches to the management of health and safety ( para 6.16 refers).
20 We will develop national standards for occupational health and safety providers in conjunction with the Royal College of Nursing, the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, the Society of Occupational Medicine, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health and the National Education Board for Scotland as the basis for the development of a national training strategy to support the delivery of our plans ( para 6.14 refers).
21 We re-confirm our support for the targets of Securing Health Together 1 and will agree a broader suite of measures through the Joint Ministerial Steering Group on Health Improvement in order to reflect the breadth of this new plan ( para 6.15 refers).
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