Surveillance and return to work of healthcare workers following SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection, Sheffield, England, 17 January to 7 February 2022.

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has challenged demands to minimise workplace transmission in healthcare settings while maintaining adequate staffing. Policymakers have shortened COVID-19 isolation periods, although little real-world data have evaluated the utility. Our findings from surveillance of 240 healthcare workers from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, England, show that 55% of affected staff could return before day 10 of isolation with over 25% eligible on day 6, pending two successive negative antigen tests.

Roll-out of SARS-CoV-2 testing for healthcare workers at a large NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, March 2020.

Healthcare workers (HCW) are potentially at increased risk of infection with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and may transmit severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to vulnerable patients. We present results from staff testing at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom. Between 16 and 29 March 2020, 1,533 symptomatic HCW were tested, of whom 282 (18%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Self-determining medical leadership needs of occupational health physicians.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore which factors motivate doctors to engage in leadership roles and to frame an inquiry of self-assessment within Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to identify the extent to which a group of occupational health physicians (OHPs) was able to self-determine their leadership needs, using a National Health Service (NHS) England competency approach promoted by the NHS England Leadership Academy as a self-assessment leadership diagnostic. Medical leadership is seen as crucial to the transformation of health-care services, yet leadership programmes are often designed with a top-down and centrally commissioned "one-size-fits-all" approach. In the UK, the Smith Review (2015) concluded that more decentralised and locally designed leadership development programmes were needed to meet the health-care challenges of the future.

Perceptions of illness and their impact on sickness absence.

Background: A patient's perception of their illness can influence their coping ability, compliance with treatment and functional recovery. Psychological interventions to address negative beliefs may facilitate an earlier return to work.

Aims: To compare perceptions of illness, fitness to return to work and time to return to work among employees with those of their occupational physicians (OPs).