SEQOHS stands for Safe, Effective, Quality Occupational Health Service and is a set of standards and a voluntary accreditation scheme for occupational health services in the UK.
Who runs SEQOHS?
The SEQOHS accreditation scheme is managed by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM), which is a charity committed to improving health at work. It is the professional and educational body for occupational medicine in the UK and seeks to ensure the highest standards in the practice of occupational medicine.
How do I check if an Occupational Health (OH) service is SEQOHS accredited?
By clicking on the tab ‘view accredited services’ to the left of this page. If you wish to check a specific OH service you can search by their name. Or if you are looking to source an OH service for a specific area, you can search using your postcode which will give you the list of accredited OH services by distance.
If you then click on the link in column headed ‘certificate date’ it will take you through to the certificate of accreditation, which shows the date it was issued. Accreditation lasts 5 years. The second page clarifies against which standard the OH service was assessed.
How do I know what the SEQOHS standards are?
The SEQOHS standards can be found under the ‘about’ tab:
https://www.seqohs.org/documentstore/2015%20SEQOHS_Standards_web_03-15.pdf
They were originally launched by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine in 2010 in response to Dame Carol Black’s Report Working for a Healthier Tomorrow in 2008, which stated ‘An integrated approach to working age health should be underpinned by clear standards of practice and formal accreditation for all providers’
Why should I use a SEQOHS accredited OH service provider?
SEQOHS accreditation is the formal recognition that an occupational health service provider has demonstrated that it has the competence to deliver against the measures in the SEQOHS standards. This includes ensuring systems are in place to monitor the competency of their clinical staff.
Furthermore, one domain is specifically in relation to relationships with the purchaser (domain E). For example, it covers what should be included within a service level agreement (SLA) and what they should agree with you from the outset.
What sort of contract/ SLA should I expect?
SEQOHS accredited OH services will agree with you, from the outset, what services are to be delivered, they may also specify any services not included within the contract.
Other expectations include, but not limited to:
• The fees should be communicated to you in a user friendly format
• The resources required in order to deliver the service
• The agreed key performance indicators (KPI’s), for example typical waiting times.
• What the process is for using the service or making a referral
• What happens if they were to identify a work related condition reportable under RIDDOR
• What their Business continuity arrangements are
• That they will protect your organisations intellectual property
• What will happen to the occupational health clinical records created if you were to no longer commission their OH services.
What if I don’t want to enter into a contract, but want a one off referral for example?
Once you have established that the SEQOHS accredited OH service does provide ad hoc services, they should still meet the requirements set out above, but they might just be included within their Business terms or other literature.
Will using a SEQOHS accredited OH service cost me more?
SEQOHS do not dictate what fees are charged for their services, but it is not anticipated that because they are accredited the cost should be any different.
I am an employer with an in-house OH service, could they become accredited and why?
Yes, SEQOHS welcomes in-house OH services to the accreditation scheme.
It is recognised that some employers may not be too sure what to expect from their in-house service or how to ensure their competency. The SEQOHS standards act as the benchmark for best practice, so if your in-house team are accredited it provides assurance to you and the other employees that the OH service has been assessed and is recognised as a safe, effective and quality service.
What should I do if I am not happy with my SEQOHS accredited OH service provider?
SEQOHS is an accreditation scheme rather that a regulator, so cannot get involved in any disputes.
You are advised to firstly discuss any concerns directly with the OH service. If though you have ongoing concerns that the OH service is breaching any of the SEQOHS standards for which they are accredited, then please inform us via email: askSEQOHS@fom.ac.uk
What is the difference between an accredited service and a service that is working towards accreditation?
Accredited services
Accredited services are occupational health or occupational health physiotherapy services that have been assessed by a team of peer reviewers and have demonstrated they have met the SEQOHS standards. Accreditation is awarded to a service for five years, subject to successful completion of further annual assessments. To see a list of services with SEQOHS accreditation and their SEQOHS certificates, please click here.
Services working towards accreditation
Services working towards accreditation are occupational health or occupational health physiotherapy services that are working towards accreditation and have not yet demonstrated they have met the SEQOHS standards.
Where can I find a list of SEQOHS accredited occupational health/occupational health physiotherapy services in my area?
A list of services accredited by SEQOHS can be found here. For more information, please contact the SEQOHS team.