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New South Coast Office for Business Health Resources
Updated Occupational Ill Health Overview
New South Coast Office for Business Health Resources
February 2008
We are pleased to announce the official opening of our new office at:
Business Health Resources Ltd
Manor Farm House
20 Southwick Street
Southwick
West Sussex
BN424TB
Tel: 01273 593344
Fax: 01273 592104
admin@businesshealthresources.co.uk
We are pleased to announce the official opening of our new office at:
Business Health Resources Ltd
Manor Farm House
20 Southwick Street
Southwick
West Sussex
BN424TB
Tel: 01273 593344
Fax: 01273 592104
admin@businesshealthresources.co.uk
Updated Occupational Ill Health Overview
May 2007
Each year over 2 million people suffer from ill health which they think is work-related …
Overall, in 2003/04 an estimated 2.2 million people were suffering from an illness which they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work; around 600 thousand of these first became aware of the illness in the past 12 months.
… with over 20 thousand new cases each year severe enough to be seen by specialist doctors ........
In 2004 an estimated 23 000 new cases were seen by specialist doctors in The Health and Occupation Reporting network, while just over 7000 per were assessed as qualifying for compensation under the Department for Work and Pensions’ Industrial Injuries Scheme.
… and several thousand people dying each year from past exposures at work.
Each year an estimated 6000 people (uncertainty range 3000 to 12 000) die from cancer due to past exposures at work. In 2003 over 1800 people died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused mainly by occupational exposure to asbestos, and around as many again from asbestos-related lung cancer. Over 100 died from asbestosis and nearly 250 from other types of pneumoconiosis, mostly associated with coal dust and silica.
Over half of all cases of work-related illness are musculoskeletal disorders or stress …
The most common types of work-related illness were musculoskeletal disorders – in particular those affecting the back and upper limbs – and stress and other types of mental illness. Both self-reporting surveys and surveillance by specialist doctors show each of these accounting for around a third of the total incidence.
… but the total also includes diseases ranging from asthma and dermatitis to infections and deafness.
Other types of ill health with significant numbers of cases reported by doctors or compensated by the Government were lung diseases such as asthma and pneumoconioses; dermatitis and other skin diseases; diarrhoeal and other infections; and disorders related to vibration or noise.
Jobs with high risks for musculoskeletal disorders included typists and road workers …
The jobs carrying the highest risks of musculoskeletal disorders, according to reports from rheumatologists in 2002-04, were typists, metal plate workers, shipwrights and riveters, and road construction operatives, all with an annual average incidence rate approximately 15 times the average for all occupations.
… while protective service, healthcare and education occupations are most at risk for mental ill health, and protective services also for violence at work.
Consultant psychiatrists reported NCOs and other ranks in UK armed forces and medical practitioners as the occupations with the highest incidence rate of work-related mental ill health in 2002-04, both with rates over 15 times the overall average.
Among the riskiest jobs for occupational asthma are vehicle spray painters and bakers and flour confectioners; for contact dermatitis hairdressers, barbers and beauticians; and for infectious diseases care assistants/home carers.
Each year over 2 million people suffer from ill health which they think is work-related …
Overall, in 2003/04 an estimated 2.2 million people were suffering from an illness which they believed was caused or made worse by their current or past work; around 600 thousand of these first became aware of the illness in the past 12 months.
… with over 20 thousand new cases each year severe enough to be seen by specialist doctors ........
In 2004 an estimated 23 000 new cases were seen by specialist doctors in The Health and Occupation Reporting network, while just over 7000 per were assessed as qualifying for compensation under the Department for Work and Pensions’ Industrial Injuries Scheme.
… and several thousand people dying each year from past exposures at work.
Each year an estimated 6000 people (uncertainty range 3000 to 12 000) die from cancer due to past exposures at work. In 2003 over 1800 people died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused mainly by occupational exposure to asbestos, and around as many again from asbestos-related lung cancer. Over 100 died from asbestosis and nearly 250 from other types of pneumoconiosis, mostly associated with coal dust and silica.
Over half of all cases of work-related illness are musculoskeletal disorders or stress …
The most common types of work-related illness were musculoskeletal disorders – in particular those affecting the back and upper limbs – and stress and other types of mental illness. Both self-reporting surveys and surveillance by specialist doctors show each of these accounting for around a third of the total incidence.
… but the total also includes diseases ranging from asthma and dermatitis to infections and deafness.
Other types of ill health with significant numbers of cases reported by doctors or compensated by the Government were lung diseases such as asthma and pneumoconioses; dermatitis and other skin diseases; diarrhoeal and other infections; and disorders related to vibration or noise.
Jobs with high risks for musculoskeletal disorders included typists and road workers …
The jobs carrying the highest risks of musculoskeletal disorders, according to reports from rheumatologists in 2002-04, were typists, metal plate workers, shipwrights and riveters, and road construction operatives, all with an annual average incidence rate approximately 15 times the average for all occupations.
… while protective service, healthcare and education occupations are most at risk for mental ill health, and protective services also for violence at work.
Consultant psychiatrists reported NCOs and other ranks in UK armed forces and medical practitioners as the occupations with the highest incidence rate of work-related mental ill health in 2002-04, both with rates over 15 times the overall average.
Among the riskiest jobs for occupational asthma are vehicle spray painters and bakers and flour confectioners; for contact dermatitis hairdressers, barbers and beauticians; and for infectious diseases care assistants/home carers.
