Salus is an NHS based provider of Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work services across the public and private sectors. Salus has main bases in west central Scotland and north west England. In association with a network of partner organisations Salus can provide services across the whole of the UK. As a not-for-profit organisation, it operates as a social enterprise in that all surpluses generated are used to enhance NHS services to the community.
Salus Mission Statement
Our mission is to:
- Provide the highest quality Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work Support for all employees within NHS Lanarkshire
- Further support the corporate objectives of NHS Lanarkshire via the improvement of public health and the generation of income from external business development
Business Philosophy
- Provide the highest quality NHS based Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work Services to the working age population across the UK
- Improve health and productivity by:
- Facilitating access to Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work Services
- Reducing inequalties in health through research and development
- Working with employers to maximise effectiveness
- Generate income which supports NHS patient care and economic growth
Staff Profile
Salus currently employs over 160 staff. It is the largest multidisciplinary service in the NHS and works in close liaison with other NHS providers across the UK. It is the most multidisciplinary service of any in the UK and its professional staff include Physicians, Nurses, Case Managers, Condition Managers, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Counsellors, Health & Safety Specialists, Fire Safety Specialists, Occupational Hygienist, Health Promotion Specialists and Ergonomist.
Range of Services
Salus provides a comprehensive range of Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work related services to a large range of organisations. These services include Occupational Health medicine, Occupational Health nursing, Health & Safety advice, Fire Safety advice, Case Management, Condition Management, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Counselling, Psychology, Occupational Hygiene, Ergonomics and Health Promotion as well as administrative and management support for these functions.
Specific areas currently being developed and implemented with clients include an online referral and reporting system, access to rehabilitation support in the form of case management, physiotherapy and occupational therapy and the implementation of a telephone based absence management system.
Scope of Services
Salus has provided a high quality, continuously improving and comprehensive range of Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work services to a wide range of organisations since 1996. These services have been provided across the UK from the Shetland Isles to the Isle of Wight, and in Ireland.
Salus’ current customer base includes a number of public and private sector organisations. Salus provides an extensive range of Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work Services across the UK to organisations including Government agencies, education sector, chemical industries, steel production, manufacturing, electronics and the Army. Salus has assisted these organisations to manage sickness absence and support the wellbeing of their employees.
Salus is the western hub of the National Healthy Working Lives Regional Advisory Service and the provider of the Scottish Government Healthy Working Lives Telephone Advisory Service. It is also the provider of the Condition Management Programme for Pathways to Work in Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, and Tayside. In Lanarkshire the Condition Management Programme has achieved a high rate of return to work of the Incapacity Benefit population in the UK and contributed to a decline in the Lanarkshire IB population from 54 000 to 46 000 people in the last few years. Salus has also recently been identified as one of the pilot sites for the UK wide Fit for Work programme, co-ordinating activity across 14 health boards in Scotland. These programmes make a major contribution to the reduction of health inequalities in the population.
Salus has provided services to small and medium sized organisations as well as large multinationals and public sector organisations. Most services are delivered directly by Salus staff but some are also provided locally by accessing a network of highly skilled service providers around the UK.
Quality / Awards
Salus’ aim is to always meet and exceed customer expectations and it achieves this through regular monitoring and review of service delivery. This includes regular reporting as agreed with the client. Salus has an externally accredited ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System and all services are delivered in line with this system. This subjects Salus activity to internal and external monitoring which supports continuous quality improvement and assists Salus' compliance with NHS Lanarkshire Clinical Governance systems.
Salus has always sought to continually evaluate and develop the services provided to clients. This has allowed it to develop innovative solutions to support organisations in managing health at work and improving management of sickness absence.
In addition to ISO9001:2008, Salus has been awarded a Healthy Working Lives Award, is signed up to the See Me mental health and wellbeing campaign and Healthy Working Lives Partnership Charter in Lanarkshire. Our parent organisation, NHS Lanarkshire, holds Positive About Disabled People Two Ticks accreditation. Salus was awarded Case Manager of the Year for 2009 by CMS UK and was a finalist in the National Business Awards 2009.
Service Recognition
External Recognition
Salus is regarded as a leader in the field. In recognition of this status, high profile visitors to its headquarters have included UK government ministers and Scottish government ministers, senior civil servants in relevant ministries, professional leaders in Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work, directors and senior staff in Health & Safety regulatory authorities, senior staff representatives from trade unions and professional associations and business leaders. These visitors have all recognised the significant contribution that Salus has made to the advancement of Occupational Health, Safety and Return to Work services.
- Customer Feedback
As part of its Quality Management System, Salus regularly surveys the satisfaction of customers, including attendees and referring managers. Salus consistently receives positive feedback on the quality of service delivery and support. This feedback helps to identify ways in which we can improve the quality and effectiveness of the services we provide to our customers.