Occupational health in the police

Challenges and opportunities

Summary:

A national health and wellbeing strategy for the police in England and Wales was launched in July 2024. Occupational physician and national police chief medical officer John Harrison explains why this marks a turning point in developing and sustaining a world-class modern police force.

 

Occupational health (OH) and wellbeing is now recognised by the police as a top priority nationally. What does this mean and how did we get to this point?

The need to invest in the workforce was recognised more than two decades ago when the previous Labour government introduced a Strategy for a Healthy Police Service¹. An important driver then was concern about levels of sickness absence. The proposed solution was an expansion of OH services that would offer services such as …

 

Professor John Harrison is national police chief medical officer for England and Wales and leads the strategic development and oversight of clinical police activity. His new book, Occupational Health and Wellbeing for British Policing, is published by Oxford University Press³⁵

 

Author: Harrison J

Tags emergency services

Occupational Health at Work February/March 2025 (vol. 21/5) pp23-29

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