TAC Healthcare acquires ‘seven-figure’ majority stake in International SOS Scottish medical services business
Aberdeen-based TAC Healthcare has bought a 90% stake in rival firm International SOS’ occupational health business in Scotland.
International SOS
Addressing skill fade in offshore medics and emergency response teams
Skill fade has been defined as the decay of ability or adeptness over a period of non-use. This can apply in any walk of life – but for an offshore medic, skill fade can have serious consequences.
International SOS – asbestos awareness
Although banned in the UK since 1999, asbestos can be found in the fabric of many buildings. It was thought to be used in more than 4,000 products, mixed with other materials, which makes it almost impossible to detect.
International SOS: Risk Outlook 2023
As the acute impact of the pandemic subsidies in many countries, organisations worldwide can still expect to encounter significant risks in 2023.
Fostering a deeper understanding of dive medicine
Commercial saturation diving, where divers live for up to a month under pressure in a specialised chamber system, is not a role in itself; diving is a method of getting people to a work site, principally for underwater construction, and keeping them alive underwater.
Why your company’s first aid should include mental health support
How we talk about mental health has drastically changed in recent years.
International SOS: Global Risks in 2023
Each year, International SOS releases an interactive Risk Map, designed to help organisations and their mobile workforce better understand the risk level of each country around the world and the specific ways these risks may impact their employees.
International SOS: Neurodiversity in the workplace
The term neurodiversity was coined by Judy Singer, an Australian sociologist, in the late 1990s.
How workplaces can play a role in normalising menopause
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Menopause Society designated October as World Menopause Month. Thanks to the increased awareness of menopause generally, more and more women are getting support and discussing the signs and symptoms that they experience.
Staying well this winter
Now that COVID restrictions have eased and people are returning to the workplace or to leisure activities in larger numbers – and with the possibility that even those who have preferred to remain working from home may now choose to work from the office as fuel costs rise – what could be the consequences for our health as we move into winter?
International SOS – Heart Health
Did you know that 7.6 million people in the UK are living with heart disease? And around 900,000 people are living with heart failure. Heart and circulatory disease cause a quarter of all deaths in the UK – an average of one every three minutes – and strokes cause around 35,000 deaths in the UK each year and are the biggest cause of severe disability in the UK.
International SOS: Business travel considerations
As travel – both business and leisure – begins to increase following the pandemic, unfortunately the stresses involved are also increasing. Planning a trip, which used to be easy, is now much more complex.
International SOS – Combatting impostor syndrome
Do you ever doubt your skills, talents, or accomplishments, or are you afraid of being exposed as a fraud, despite external evidence of your competence? Have you ever thought “I’ll be found out and they’ll see I don’t deserve this”?
Misinformation and disinformation – why is it so hard to fight?
Today, social media has become the primary source for news for much of the world.
Chronic disease and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic
We were asked many times during the pandemic to predict what the next six or 12 months had in store – which was almost impossible for us to forecast. Alternatively, we can predict what will be coming in the next twelve months when it comes to chronic disease – otherwise known as non-communicable diseases – which includes conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Continuing the momentum to eliminate malaria in the era of Covid-19
While the global health focus is still on the COVID-19 pandemic, malaria remains as a serious and life-threatening disease among adults and children in many countries including international travellers and employees who are residing in malaria transmission areas.
Long COVID in the workplace
As we progress through the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has learned to adapt to this challenging virus after two years of social distancing measures, widespread government intervention and vaccines. While most patients suffering from acute COVID-19 recover fully within approximately four weeks, a growing minority of the world’s population is facing what has come to be termed ‘long COVID’.
International SOS – How to improve male health
We live in an ‘always-on’ world, where professional status, consumerism and the pervasive reach of social media can push us to always want more. While we all face challenges, their effects are not equally felt.
Effective sickness absence management
Did you know that if an employee is off work for 4-12 weeks, they have between a 10%-40% chance of them being absent for one year? But that’s not all. For those signed off work between six and 12 months, there is a whopping 90% chance of them never returning to any form of work in the foreseeable future.1
Investing in employee health to offset risk
After consulting with nearly 1,000 risk professionals across 75 countries worldwide and drawing upon insights from the Workforce Resilience Council and International SOS, the results are in.
The impact of musculoskeletal disorders
During 2020 and the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the UK’s sickness absence rate fell to its lowest level since the Office of National Statistics (ONS) began collecting data in 1995.
Managing stress to improve mental and physical wellbeing
Stress is a key factor in mental health, affecting people in a variety of physiological ways. Defined as the ‘adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demands placed upon them’ by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), stress – if left unchecked – can lead to damaging physical, mental and emotional problems.
Emphasising collaboration and staff wellbeing in your crisis response
Crisis management is a crucial aspect in maintaining operational resilience for any modern-day organisation. Effective crisis management ensures an organisation is well-prepared for disruption, able to rapidly respond to and recover from a crisis, and deploys a collaborative approach when absorbing and interpreting information to inform rapid decision-making in high-pressure scenarios.
Addressing the employee health needs of the future with specialist support
In a recent survey by International SOS, 88% of global health professionals predicted that the health requirements of their organisation would increase in complexity. Mental health support, infectious disease control and regulatory compliance are believed to be the biggest drivers of this, with 74% of all respondents believing that their organisation’s investment in health will increase over the next 10 years.
Improving awareness and resilience: crisis management gap analysis
It is often said that change is the only constant in life. Change brings with it numerous opportunities to adapt and thrive in the face of new challenges, and the Covid-19 pandemic is the most recent seismic change to have revolutionised working practices the world over.