Occupational Health and Wellbeing for British Policing: A Primer

Occupational Health and Wellbeing for British Policing aims to examine the role of occupational health within the police force. Health and wellbeing in the police is a rapidly expanding field both nationally and internationally. While there are many books and textbooks which consider health and wellbeing in a general capacity, there are currently no occupational health texts dedicated to this important emergency service. Improvement of occupational health in the police is a priority; this book fills a current practice vacuum.

John Harrison provides a wealth of personal knowledge and experience from working both in NHS trusts, and with Devon and Cornwall Police, as well as his experience as the National Police Chief Medical Officer. In Occupational Health and Wellbeing for British Policing, Harrison has curated a collection of resources to facilitate the development of police occupational health policy and standards and to improve the health and wellbeing of police officers and staff. Divided into four parts, the book explores occupational health practice, clinical issues, current priorities in occupational health, and the health and wellbeing agenda.

Aimed at both health practitioners and police forces, this book offers practical guidance on a range of occupational health priorities, such as setting up an occupational health service, assessing fitness, managing ill health, workplace stress, and more.

John Harrison, Devon and Cornwall Police

John Harrison was appointed Senior Lecturer in Occupational Medicine at the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in 1990. In 2003, he moved to become Clinical Director of Organisational Wellbeing at the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust / Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He joined the police in 2014 as Chief Medical Officer for Devon and Cornwall Police and became National Police Chief Medical Officer in 2022. He was Academic Dean of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians, chair of the European Schools of Occupational Medicine and a board member of the International Commission of Occupational Health (ICOH).

A: Occupational Health Practice1. Setting Up an Occupational Health Service2. Features of a Value-Added Police Occupational Health Service3. Assessing Fitness to Work for the Police4. Health Surveillance5. Managing Ill Health at Work & Attendance Management6. Ill Health Retirement7. Clinical GovernanceB: Occupational Health Clinical Topics in British Policing8. Workplace Stress9. Common Mental Health Disorders10. Suicide11. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder12. Musculo-Skeletal Disorders13. Infectious DiseasesC: Talking Points in Police Occupational Health14. Police Uplift15. Occupational Health and the Management of Exposure to Blood and Body Fluids16. Fitness for Blue Light Driving17. Fitness to be a Firearms Officer18. The Role and Functioning of the Selected Medical PractitionerD: Embracing the Health and Wellbeing Agenda19. What is Health and Wellbeing?20. Occupational Health and the Workplace Wellbeing Agenda21. Oscar Kilo - The Blue Light Framework and the National Police Wellbeing Service22. The Police Covenant23. HMICFRS PEEL Inspections24. Operational Health and Wellbeing - Policing the G7E: AppendicesAppendix 1: GDPR and Occupational HealthAppendix 2: COVID-19 Protective MeasuresAppendix 3: ALAMA and OHNAPSAppendix 4: The National Police Chiefs' Council, the College of Policing, and the OfficeAppendix 5: Examples of Policing RolesAppendix 6: The Police Federation of England and Wales, the Police Superintendents' Association, and UNISON and other Trades Unions