Latest / The SOM Podcast / SOM NEWS UPDATE - AUGUST 2026

Transcript

SOM NEWS UPDATE - AUGUST 2026 · The SOM Podcast

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  Speaker 1: This podcast is sponsored by Orchid Live. Find out more
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  at orchidlive.com. Here's your SOM News update for August 2026.
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  I'm Steve Randall. This year's SOM Leadership Conference takes place
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  on Thursday the 8th of October from 9.30am to 4.30pm.
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  It's a hybrid event in London and online and is
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  an inclusive day for all disciplines, offering inspiration to develop
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  your leadership skills. This year's theme is human leadership in
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  a changing world, looking after your own well-being, the well-being
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  of your team and the benefits this has for your
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  business as a whole. Click the link in the show
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  notes for more info and to register. The BMJ is
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  calling for young people to get mental health and employment
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  support before they receive a formal diagnosis. It follows the
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  Milburn Review, which found almost 1,000,000 16 to 24-year-olds in
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  the UK are not in education, work or training. The
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  authors of a BMJ article say services should focus on
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  how problems such as anxiety, neurodiversity or stress affect daily life,
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  rather than on diagnostic labels alone. They highlight long waits
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  for specialist help, including autism assessments, and argue that health, education,
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  welfare and employment services need to work together to prevent
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  young people falling through the gaps. Campaigners are calling on
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  the Health and Safety Executive to recognise work-related suicide... as
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  a reportable workplace death. In an open letter signed by researchers, unions,
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  charities and bereaved families, they estimate that around 600 suicides
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  in the UK each year may be linked to work.
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  They say current rules mean these deaths are often not
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  recorded and not investigated, leaving risks unaddressed. The signatories point
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  to the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, where an inquest
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  found an Ofsted inspection had contributed to her suicide. They
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  say clearer reporting could help employers identify harmful workplace pressures
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  and prevent further deaths. Some events in September include GDPR
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  and implementation of diversity issues in a workplace on 7th
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  September are fit notes for purpose. Monday 28th September and
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  the JAOHL SOM joint webinar Women's Health at Work on
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  Tuesday 29th September. The links to register are in the
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  show notes. And it's also a busy month for SOM
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  special interest groups with meetings including mining, neurodiversity, OH technicians, safeguarding,
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  academic forum, clinical audit, women's health at work, HAVS, pensions,
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  construction and health surveillance, the SOM international group and mental health.
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  Contact Rose Wood at SOM to get involved. Coming soon
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  on the SOM podcast, are Z scores a breath of
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  fresh air for spirometry?
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  Speaker 2: You might have a younger person who blows normal, normal, normal, normal,
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  but actually every year the drop is bigger than what
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  you would expect for the normal expected age-related decline. The
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  spirometry might still be saying normal because they can blow
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  above that percentage. I mean, even with the Z scores,
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  they might still be able to be normal, but you've
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  got to look at that longitudinal change. It's not just
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  a one-off.
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  Speaker 1: And what can we learn from Aussie physios?
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  Speaker 3: The opportunities that the physios have in Australia to undertake
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  occupational health practices is far greater in Australia than it
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  is in the UK. And that is possibly due to
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  the differences that they have within their compensation, their workers'
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  compensation scheme, which provides medical care, income support and rehab
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  for people who are injured at work. And this has
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  a strong emphasis on early intervention, collaboration and safe return
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  to work through the state-based compensation schemes.
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  Speaker 1: Listen out for those full episodes and plenty more on
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  the way soon. SOM members get all the news first
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  in the e-news email and remember to catch up with
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  our other podcast episodes in the same place you're listening
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  to this one. They include special interest group, occupational therapist
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  and mini CPD series. And until next time, thanks for
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  listening to the SOM News Update. And work with both
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  in-house OH teams and OH providers. You can find out
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  more at orchidlive.com.