Interview with Edward Tidbury of RBLI

Interview with Edward Tidbury at RBLI

 A while ago I met with Edward Tidbury of Royal British Legion Industries. He runs the independent work based assessment programme which essentially means that he and his team help people remain in work, get in to work and be more efficient when they are at work. It is a large team and Edward is a busy man but he agreed to answer some questions for me.

In your experience, does keeping people in work keep them healthier and is there any evidence to prove this?

Yes absolutely, my experience is that being active physically and mentally in the workplace has an empowerment value that cannot be under estimated.

My belief is that everyone should be able to work and if you want to get help to enable you to do so there are many organisations that can help. A good starting place would be looking at the access to work scheme website at https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview.

What are the most common problems that you help people with?

RBLI delivers a pan-disability service to help overcome work-related needs as a result health conditional disability, this is led by the needs of the individual so we help people in all sorts of ways and don’t really have a most common difficulty that we help with.

Are we a ‘put up and shut up’ society?

In many ways yes but I think this stems from people not knowing what help is available. There is also sometimes a feeling that if someone asks for help they feel like a nuisance and think that this will be seen in a bad light. It is my experience that employees generally want their staff to be as efficient as possible so react well to requests for help. There are also some very positive employees who make it their business that staff are helped in this way and these companies reap the rewards of a motivated and efficient workforce.

Keeping people in work and efficient in work, is likely to make economic sense for the employer, can you provide examples to show this?

There are many but I will put myself forward as one. I have dyslexia and I have received excellent support from my previous employer and also RBLI. I am in my ninth year with RBLI and run a large team that provides assessments for the government run Access to Work programme in addition to our independent company assessments.

As well as running the Access to Work assessment delivery in the South I am also a customer of access to work and I have been provided with specialist computer software that helps with my dyslexia. Without this support I would find very difficult to carry out this role and could not contribute to the economy as a whole. 

For RBLI there is no question that providing the support we do has very positive financial outcomes for the employer and the larger economy.  

How many of the people you help are ex-service men or women?

We don’t know as my group does not ask if clients are ex- service. That said RBLI has a very proud heritage of helping those who have served their country and that is still a very large part of our work. 

What advice would you initially give someone who thinks they need some help at work to be more productive and comfortable?

I have been lucky in my career as I have always been open about the difficulties that I have faced and received support that has helped me be a productive employee. So my advice  would try and be as open and honest as you can about any difficulties you have and then be proactive in getting help  so you can demonstrate how useful and what good value for money you can be to your employer.

Support and help is available to everyone whatever disability they have. The Access to Work website is very user friendly and has full details on how to apply for a grant to provide practical help to enable you to become or remain an efficient member of the workforce - https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/overview.

Edward can be contacted on Edward.tidbury@rbli.co.uk or 01622 795900

He can help businesses and individuals who need help with workplace assessments.

Information on the rest of RBLI’s activities is on www.rbli.co.uk

Members of Edward's team

Get Some Help

When I see people who are worried about their posture or have a bad back I always suggest that they don't suffer in silence and get some help. Whether this is seeing an osteopath, physiotherapist, chiropractor, Alexander technique practitioner it is important to realise that there are people who can and want to help.

My business is a small concern but I have learnt through my experience (admittedly only two years or so) that getting some help from others is usually a good thing. I have a couple of examples.

I truly believe that the Back App can help a lot of people  - there are many testimonials from current users and also published research showing this to be the case. However to help me tell people how the Back App can be beneficial I got some help in the form of a PR person. Laura Berril has helped enormously and 'spread the word' in articles such as the one here. -
http://www.positivehealth.com/article/back-pain/long-periods-of-sitting-took-their-toll-exercise-and-a-new-chair-made-the-difference

I would recommend small businesses to really consider using all the different sorts of media to get their message across and Laura is a practical and talented person to lean on for this.

Also using blogs, twitter, email shot etc is a good way for small businesses to be heard. It can be a bit daunting at first and again I got some help from someone who can advise on a whole social media strategy. His name is Nick Hazell and again he has a very practical approach and is a delight to work with.

Both Nick and Laura have a track record of helping large business as well so you don't have to be a start up to benefit from their expertise.

So when running your business and also dealing with your bad back don't be afraid to ask for help!

Laura Berril's website is www.lauraberrill.co.uk
Nick Hazell's website is www.stratys.co.uk

Stand at Your Desk or Move While Sitting

There is a lot of talk about standing at your desk being more healthy than sitting all day for all sort of reasons. This morning on the BBC there as a piece on this subject - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27305330

For those people that want to move more but find it hard to stand all day then the Back App chair can help. It ensures a good posture and also provides a gentle but constant exercise for the core muscles. In addition it is easy to get out of so you are unlikely to be rooted in your chair all day so more possible you will stand for periods throughout the day.  See the video below for a demonstration of how it works.

Be In Balance - a new book on the Alexander Technique

Angela Bradshaw is an Alexander Technique teacher and has written a book that is an introduction to AT. I have read it and my review is below - I like it and recommend  it whether you have back pain and other niggles or not. Follow the link below to buy it.

Most people have heard about Alexander Technique but very few know what it is. I have had an AT lesson which I really enjoyed but I needed to read Angela's book before I could really tell you what AT is.

In particular it made me think about my children and how precious their movements and 'way of being' are when they are little. The book made me glad that they go to a school that employs movement in their learning and does not use computers, tablets and all the other 'stuff' that is often 'issued' by schools to young children.

There is sage advice for everyone on how to make the workplace more bearable and maybe even fun and pleasant. Tips on how to commute by train will make sure you start the day well. I took special note of AT tips on driving. Not only for posture but driving is something that can make me tense so practicing learning some new habits along with the 'whispered ah' will make me a better driver and hopefully, for my wife, better company in the car. 

  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Be-Balance-Introduction-Alexander-Technique/dp/190779834X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1398697399&sr=8-3&keywords=angela+bradshaw

A couple of good ideas to ease your back

Are child car seats a bit of a pain?

I have a four year old boy and I have often found fixing the child seat into the car an irritating thing to do. It is at a funny angle and puts my back in an awkward position. This blow up child seat might help -

 http://www.motors.co.uk/news/general/volvo-unveils-inflatable-child-seat-concept-(1)


Universal Power Sockets

 One reason for a bad back can be a heavy briefcase. When I go away mine is often full of chargers for my computer and phone which not only makes it heavy but bulky. Margolis Office Interiors are marketing a universal socket block that takes all  international plugs and USB sockets for charging smart phones, tablets, cameras etc.
It is designed for anywhere there might be international travellers so will be seen in hotels, universities, serviced offices, coffee shops, libraries infact it would be useful pretty much anywhere. Contact Matthew Wickham on 020 75043473 to find out more.

Meet The Experts - Discussion on the latest musculoskeletal diagnostics and how technology affects ergonomics

Meet The Experts

Last November (2013) I was lucky enough to be invited to the Medserena upright MRI facility in London. This is a state of the art MRI where Professor Francis Smith is clinical director and he hosted a round table chat with some very experienced and capable people in the world of ergonomics and musculoskeletal health. I was also there - just to make up the numbers.

Present were

Professor Francis Smith - Clincial director of Medserena 

Guy Osmond - of Osmond Ergonomics

Alberto Gonzalez of The Gonstead Chiropractic Clinic in Harley Street 

The discussion was recorded and has been aired on Health Radio UK 

LISTEN TO THE RECORDING I MADE here - 

Please do listen but bear in mind it is the original recording and has not been edited by UK Health Radio so has some preamble at the end has caught one of us asking for a glass of wine - who do you think it is?

Pictured from left to right are Professor Francis Smith, Guy Osmond and Alberto Gonzalez.

Do as I say Not As I Do!

I went to the Health and Wellbeing@Work conference this last Wednesday. It was very good with lots of excellent exhibitors and talks.
I went to some of the talks chaired by Professor Peter Buckle and the subject of changing cultures and also bad habits of children using technology came up. The professor took a straw poll of the room asking how many present sometimes used their laptop or tablet while sitting on the sofa - I think it was while watching TV at the end of the day. The room was full of ergonomists, OH therapists etc and at least half of them raised their hands. I am sometimes guilty as well and it shows how hard it is to get people to adopt healthy habits. Professor Buckle commented that children will tend to do what they see their parents doing and with musculoskeletal problems becoming more prevalent in younger people I am going to try and curb my bad habits - at least when my children are around!