The estimated workforce served by occupational physicians in the UK

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Public Health Surveillance
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The UK established an occupational disease surveillance scheme using clinical consultants and occupational physicians.
• Existing data relied on Labour Force Survey statistics, which were inadequate for estimating the reach of occupational physicians.
• A significant gap existed in understanding the proportion of the employed population with access to occupational health services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the number of employees served by occupational physicians in the UK.
• To determine the proportion of the working population with access to occupational health services.
• To identify variations in access to occupational physicians across different industrial sectors.

Main Methods:

• Survey of approximately 700 occupational physicians to estimate their responsible employee populations.
• Exclusion of inactive reporters and physicians without defined workforces.
• Data collection and estimation of employee numbers by industry, occupation, and sex.

Main Results:

• Data from 503 active occupational physicians were analyzed.
• An estimated 3.2 million employees (12% of the working population) are served by these physicians.
• Access varied widely: 43% in health/social services, 6% in general industry, and 1% in agriculture/forestry/fishing.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully estimated the reach of occupational physicians in the UK.
• Significant disparities in access to occupational health services exist across industries.
• While industrial sector estimates were reliable, occupational estimates were less so, particularly in health and social services.