Health and work update for clients as at 13th May 2025
PROMOTING, PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING HEALTH IN WORK
Primary recipients of this and each of our regular monthly updates are asked to ensure these are disseminated to colleagues in HR, those in line management positions, and to senior management.
1. Safety critical work and medical cannabinoids
In previous client briefs I have advised on medical cannabinoids and fitness for work. This issue was discussed at an international conference I attended last week, and it is clear that this is an issue in other nations as well as here in the UK. The Faculty of Occupational Medicine will be producing updated guidance in the Autumn, but I can advise that the international consensus remains that those taking cannabis whether prescribed or not will not be fit for safety critical work such as driving. The reason for this is that like other drugs, prescribed or illicit, cannabis will impair performance . Furthermore, the amount performance can be impacted and the length of time this impact lasts can be unpredictable. We should be happy to advise on such cases.
2. Supporting those with health conditions and disabilities in work.
Many people who are prescribed medical cannabinoids will have impacts on their health that are likely to be considered disabilities. Whereas safety comes first, another reason for recommending we are referring those using medical cannabinoids would be to advise on potential adjustments for the underlying reasons they have this prescribed as medication. Whereas the criteria for prescribing under the NHS is limited to that advised by NICE , the majority of people we see have other health problems for which they have private prescriptions. As for other employees, a supportive approach makes a significant difference to sustaining those with health conditions and disabilities in their work; we can advise on potential alternate work the employer is considering for those in safety critical roles who continue to take medical cannabinoids and so would be precluded from safety critical work.
Dr Robin Cordell
MBA FRCP FFOM
13 May 2025
We should draw attention to the links on our home page to this current monthly health and work update for our clients, and also to our previous updates at: https://cordellhealth.co.uk/.
We should draw attention to the links on our home page to this current monthly health and work update for our clients, and also to our previous updates at: https://cordellhealth.co.uk/.