Your Occupational Health and Wellbeing team is there to help and support you at and out of work.

Whether you’re managing health conditions or difficulties, looking for advice around risks in the workplace, seeking help to stay well at work or looking to make general health and life improvements, the Occupational Health and Wellbeing team is there for you.

Amongst the services offered from within Occupational Health and Wellbeing include:​​​​​​​

  • Clinical ergonomics, helping reduce risk, keep you safe and prevent illness and injury
  • Counselling, with the provision of high-quality and confidential emotional support and listening services, as well as further signposting
  • Health and Wellbeing, with active promotion of the wellbeing support, resources and opportunities available to you
  • Nursing and medical, who support you and your manager in assessing the impact of your health on your work, and your work on your health and deliver vaccinations
  • Physiotherapy, providing advice and treatment for musculoskeletal conditions and support self-management of long-term conditions

Occupational Health and Wellbeing services are accessible to all employees. Students are asked to use their university’s occupational health services but are free to benefit from and interact with our health and wellbeing offer. Management referrals are not required to access support from an Occupational Health and Wellbeing serivce – in fact, we encourage you to contact us for help and advice whenever it’s needed and ideally as early as you reasonably can. 

For further information on referrals, the different types of referral and how to use these to access our support and services, please scroll down or visit the referrals area on the Occupational Health & Wellbeing StaffZone page.

Those with any further queries about Occupational Health and Wellbeing services should contact the team. We can be reached via email on [email protected] or via phone on 0191 445 5494 between the hours of 8:30am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.

Donate to our Health and Wellbeing Fund

Show your support for colleagues across #TeamGateshead and help us in providing mental, physical, social, environmental and financial wellbeing support to colleagues by making a donation to our QE Charity Health and Wellbeing Fund.

Our Health and Wellbeing Strategy:

Gateshead Health’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy is to be enacted between 2022 – 2024, and is derived from the latest NHS England Health and Wellbeing Framework.

To find out more about our organisational staff health and wellbeing strategy, visit our dedicated page via the button below – where you’ll be able to view a summary video, learn more and download a copy of the strategy.

NHS Framework

NHS England Health and Wellbeing Framework

NHS England’s new health and wellbeing framework clearly sets out the areas which have the most impact on the health and wellbeing of the people who work within our organisation.

To find out more about each of these areas and the components of work which sit within them to help us better health and wellbeing at Gateshead, click below.

Our current priorities - areas of focus

Our current areas of focus

The health and wellbeing programme board help hold the organisation to account with regards to ensuring we enact our strategy.

There are currently two key workstreams being reported on at the board’s monthly meetings, which are titled getting the basics right and psychological support. Both of these workstreams are designed to feed into various focus areas within the framework above.

Health and Wellbeing Guardian

Dr Ruth Bonnington is our Health and Wellbeing Guardian here at Gateshead Health, and sits on the Board as a Non-Executive Director. Find out more about Ruth, her role as Guardian and how she ensures that staff health and wellbeing always has a voice at the highest level here.

Meet The Team - Administrators

Lynne Burns

Occupational Health Adminstrator Team Leader

Rachel Fawcett

Rachel Fawcett

Occupational Health Administrator

Claire Burkitt

Claire Burkitt

Occupational Health Administrator

Meet The Team - Nursing and Medical

Claire Hobson

Claire Hobson

Occupational Health and Wellbeing Manager

Elizabeth McCarthy

Occupational Health Consultant

Jacqui Luker

Specialist Nurse Practitioner

Lauren Thompson

Lauren Thompson

Staff Nurse Advisor

Denise McGrath

Staff Nurse Advisor