Hempson Industries UK Ltd.. A case study in occupational health services--the solution.

Abstract

In the February 1996 issue of Occupational Medicine, we published a case study in which the Chief Medical Officer of Hempson Industries, Steve Saunders, had just returned from a European conference where he delivered a well-received keynote presentation on work-related stress disorders. He was delighted with this success and his more general success in establishing a professional and proactive occupational health service during his two years with Hempson Industries. His delight, however, was undermined by his receipt of an internal memorandum from the newly appointed Director of Finance and Administration, Richard Coleman. The letter cited Board colleagues' criticisms of the contribution of OHS to company results, the expense of some services like health screening and recruitment medicals and the seemingly slow and unresponsive behaviour of most OHS staff. It also proposed the out-sourcing of occupational health to Boone Occupational Health Care Inc., an American private occupational health service. We invited readers to reply to the case study, explaining what they would do in Steve's situation. Out of a number replies, four were selected for publication and follow. The author author of the case study, Greg Shaffer, then provides some final comments.