IOM: Institute of Occupational Medicine
The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) is one of the UK's leading independent providers of health and safety solutions to the public sector, industry, commerce and professional bodies. We have a wealth of scientific and medical expertise, enabling us to provide practical solutions to a broad spectrum of occupational and environmental health concerns. Whether your requirement is for multidisciplinary research, strategic advice, expert opinion, on-site measurement and monitoring or laboratory analysis, the IOM can help.
Health in the workplace
According to the World Health Organization, workplace fatalities, injuries and illness cost around 4-5% of worldwide GDP and only 10-15% of workers have access to basic occupational health services.
Every year in the UK more than 2 million people suffer ill health which they attribute to factors at work, and 40 million working days are lost to business. Over the same period, specialist doctors see 20,000 new cases of occupational ill-health, and several thousand people die from diseases linked to their work. The cost to the UK economy could be as much as £20 billion annually.
The pattern of workplace injury and illness may have changed over the decades, but the basic problem has not gone away. The demand for solutions to these human health questions remains as strong as ever.
Total health solutions
IOM Solutions are underpinned by an unrivalled body of knowledge, and more than three decades of published research.
Our work includes:
- fundamental research
- strategic reviews of published work
- expert advice and consulting on specific issues
- laboratory analysis
- on-site assessment of potentially hazardous materials or working conditions
We are concerned with exposure to chemicals, particles, fibres, fumes, noise and vibration, as well human factors such as workplace ergonomics and occupational psychology. We undertake exposure assessment, measurement of health effects and risk assessment, and give advice on the control of exposure and personal protection.
Our priority throughout is to provide solutions to our customers' problems, as they relate to human health in the workplace or the wider environment. Therefore, we will draw as necessary on the skills and experience within IOM Research, IOM Consulting and IOM Services to provide a practical, cost-effective solution based on sound science and independent thinking.
Our teams of scientists, technicians and consultants include a number with international reputations in their fields of expertise. So whatever your occupational health concerns, we'll give you access to real experts, who will listen, understand, and focus on finding the solutions you need.
Assured quality and expert knowledge
The IOM is recognised internationally as a voice of independence and integrity in occupational and environmental health. Our reputation is built on more than 30 years of outstanding scientific achievement, and we maintain this pre-eminence by continuing to invest in a world-class team of scientific, technical and support staff.
IOM scientists provide advice to government and government agencies and many are members of expert committees reporting to the Health and Safety Executive, the Department of Health and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Our work is of the highest quality, meeting or surpassing regulatory standards, and many of our services are UKAS accredited. Whatever you ask us to do, we are committed to communicating our findings clearly, and on time.
