TY - JOUR T1 - What occupational medicine offers to primary care JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 392 LP - 393 DO - 10.3399/bjgp17X692213 VL - 67 IS - 662 AU - Paul J Nicholson AU - John Gration Y1 - 2017/09/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/67/662/392.abstract N2 - The health of patients who work is important to UK GPs — almost 32 million people work — and about a half of a GP’s patients work.1 Recent government publications highlight a lack of practical support to help people who are off sick stay connected to and get back to work,2 and that there should be easier and earlier access to health care for people in work, with GPs recognising when early referral might prevent someone leaving work permanently.3There is a significant health burden and cost if employers do not ‘get it right’. Accidents and work-related illness through exposures to toxic or pathogenic materials, stress, and ergonomic problems challenge health care and the economy. An estimated 25.9 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and 4.5 million due to workplace injuries in 2015–2016 in Great Britain alone, costing an estimated £14.1 billion a year.4In fact, 1.3 million people who worked during the last year self-reported a work-related illness, including 500 000 new conditions presenting that year.4 Another 0.8 million people who worked over a year previously have reported a work-related illness,5 with the costs extending to society, individuals, and their family members. Around a quarter of the cost is to the state, through benefits paid and tax lost (∼80%) and NHS treatment (∼20%).6Reducing the incidence of work-related illness requires support by multidisciplinary occupational health services (OHS) staffed by specially trained professionals who possess unique and complementary skills, that is, occupational physicians (OPs), occupational health nurses, physiotherapists, counsellors, and occupational health technicians. NHS OHS may provide access … ER -