25/02/2009 - Employers blamed over work injuries
Employers are not doing enough to tackle repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in the workplace, according to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
It reports that 213,000 people suffered upper limb or neck disorders last year, which cost firms £300 million in sick pay and lost productivity. It says that even though RSI is a big worry for workers, few employers offer access to occupational health services.
Said spokeswoman Pauline Cole: "There is a clear opportunity for employers to do more to provide occupational health services, both with regard to prevention of RSI and rehabilitation. We are calling on the Government to both encourage and enforce measures to address this with legislation, combined with incentives and best practice guidance.
"We may then, after the frustration of many years of no progress, begin to see some reduction in the rates of this almost completely preventable condition. More needs to be done to prevent RSI from occurring in the first place and, if it does occur, to provide early intervention treatments to prevent the problem getting so bad people have to stop work altogether."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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