Background
Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of Britain's working-age population, 'Working for a healthier tomorrow' (published in March 2008), advocated clear standards of practice and formal accreditation of all providers who support people of working age. The government’s response to the review, improving health and work: changing lives, endorsed that recommendation.
In response to this, a broad, multi-disciplinary stakeholder group led by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) developed standards and accreditation for occupational health services. The original standards were launched as SEQOHS in 2010 and the FOM commissioned the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) to develop and manage the accreditation scheme, which was launched in December of that year. The standards were reviewed and relaunched in 2015
In July 2019 the running of SEQOHS was brought in-house to the FOM’s new premises in Greenwich which also provides on site training facilities.
Since the launch, the SEQOHS accreditation scheme has rapidly become an integral part of the occupational health service landscape, accepted in both the public and private sectors as the recognised industry standard.
SEQOHS accreditation provides independent and impartial recognition that the occupational health service provider has objectively demonstrated their competence, as defined by the SEQOHS standards, to a team of trained assessors.
About the FOM
The Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) 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. FOM seeks to drive improvement in the health of the working age population through outstanding occupational health capability by developing and supporting the good practice of occupational medicine. It works for the public benefit through the protection of people at work by ensuring the highest professional standards of competence, quality and ethical integrity.
In collaboration with a large stakeholder group, FOM developed the SEQOHS standards in 2009 to create a benchmark quality for occupational health services.