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Health programmes

At GSK, we recognise that good employee health contributes to good business health.

Our Employee Health Policy – which sits alongside our EHS Policy – sets out our overall commitment to protecting and promoting the health and well-being of our employees. An Employee Health Management department supports our sites in implementing the policy globally. In 2004 we held workshops in India, Europe and the US for health practitioners to share information and best practice. See more on Employee health management organisation.

In 2004, our internal audits identified a number of weaknesses in the way sites manage key health risks, including chemical agents, ergonomics, and resilience and mental well-being. We have responded by developing new strategies on chemical exposure, ergonomics, and resilience and mental well-being and by introducing a number of new management tools and resources.

In 2005, we plan to set up a new employee health “scorecard” to measure and monitor the effectiveness of programmes and processes to promote the health and productivity of our employees.

Our aim is to improve GSK’s business performance through enhancing the health and resilience of its people. Here are some of the key health achievements in 2004:

Resilience and mental well-being
There were 39 cases of mental illness (with and without lost time) at GSK in 2004 – a significant reduction from 79 in 2003. There was also a corresponding decrease in the number of days lost from work-related mental illness from 2,956 in 2003 to 1,513 in 2004.

Mental illness was the leading cause of work-related sickness absence, accounting for 33% of all work-related lost time illnesses. On average, each GSK case of work related mental illness resulted in 50 days off work, significantly more than the average number of days lost from other causes of occupational illness causing lost time.

We use the term ‘resilience’ to describe the set of skills and behaviours needed to cope successfully with the pressures of a rapidly changing work environment. We have strategies on resilience and mental well-being in the UK and the US. In 2005 we plan to develop a group-wide strategy on these issues.

During the year, a total of 150 teams in the UK used our Team Resilience Toolkit – developed in 2003 – to identify and manage risks and measure performance.

In many countries, including the UK and US, we continued to put in place health and stress-reduction programmes that are relevant to local conditions, cultures and workplace risks. Many of these are designed to reduce workplace pressure and encourage a good work-life balance. Examples include personal and team resilience, personal skills such as time management, flexible working options, health awareness and education initiatives, and healthy food choices at our on site catering facilities. We also provide fitness facilities either on-site or off-site at many of our sites. For example, in the UK, we have a fitness centre at GSK House in Brentford, and almost half (47%) of the employees who work there are members of it. In the US, we have fitness facilities at nine sites and an average of 20% of our employees have enrolled to use the facilities.

In 2004, our sites in Singapore and the UK received awards for initiatives to promote resilience. Our manufacturing site in Jurong, Singapore, received a Platinum Award from the Health Promotion Board of the Singapore Ministry of Health for programmes which encourage staff to “work hard, play hard and stay well.” A bronze award was also presented to our Quality Road site for health programmes. In the UK, the GSK Resilience and Mental Well-being strategy was recognised by the UK Health and Safety Executive as a Beacon of Excellence and one of the best stress prevention strategies they have seen.

See more on our approach to resilience and mental well-being.

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Ergonomics
In 2004, there were 28 cases of musculoskeletal illness (with lost time), mainly due to repetitive strain injury. These accounted for 31% of work related lost time illnesses – the second most frequent category (after mental health). There were also 106 overexertion/strain injuries with lost time accounting for 20% of lost time injuries. In addition, musculoskeletal illness not related to work is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK and one of the highest categories of healthcare spend in the US.

In response to these challenges, GSK has developed an ergonomics strategy up to 2010, and created and appointed a new position of a full-time professional ergonomist. With this appointment at the end of 2004 we will refine our strategy and programmes going forward.

Our approach to managing ergonomic issues is a collaborative one involving Employee Health Management staff, safety professionals, engineers, line managers and human resources functions.

In 2004, 106 sites carried out 3,243 office workstation risk assessments using our on-line ergonomics risk assessment tool. This has now been translated into French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish and is available on our intranet.

During the year, we also started work to develop a specific ergonomics risk assessment and control tool for non-office based employees. This will be piloted in the US before being extended globally.

A key part of our strategy for 2005 and beyond is to establish employee-led ergonomic improvement teams at all GSK sites. In the UK, we now have such teams at thirteen sites. In 2004, these sites achieved a 40% reduction in musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses.

Over 80 examples of ergonomics best practice have been developed and shared on our intranet. We also created a new area on our intranet for people with ergonomics responsibilities to discuss issues, share ideas and access resources.

In 2005, the GSK ergonomics guidance will be updated to reflect the growing amount of knowledge and expertise in this field. We also plan to incorporate ergonomic principles into our design tool kits for new equipment and processes.

Our manufacturing site in Barnard Castle, UK, was awarded 1st place in the safety category of our EHS Excellence Awards for its ergonomic improvements. See case study.

See more on our approach to ergonomics.

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Occupational hygiene and control of chemical exposure
In 2004, there were 9 cases of respiratory or dermal (skin) illness resulting in lost time and 115 non lost time cases, mainly due to exposure to chemicals. Together, they accounted for 28% of work-related illnesses.

In 2004, we developed a strategy on control of chemical exposure up to 2010. This sets out a plan of action for achieving our 2010 goal of a ‘shirt sleeve’ working environment i.e. a workplace where containment of chemicals during manufacture replaces the need for personal protective equipment.

During the year we surveyed all our sites to review the way they handle chemicals and control exposure to the most potent compounds (those with an exposure limit less than 100 micrograms per cubic metre. Note - a microgram is one millionth of a gram). This has helped us to understand our current position and set priorities for the future.

We have introduced new tools to help sites calculate the cost of different options for controlling exposure to chemicals. This has resulted in a better understanding of the true costs of control strategies and frequently demonstrates that engineering controls, including containment systems, are more cost effective than traditional control methods of extraction and personal protective equipment. A number of our sites have achieved significant savings by installing new containment systems. For example, in Parma, Italy, a new containment system for a toxic compound for treating cancer led to savings of £1.4 million. In Dungarvan, Ireland, a new enzyme containment solution led to financial savings of £0.2 million.

To share best practice across our sites, we have made available on our intranet site 43 engineering design kits for controlling chemical exposures (solutions already in existence that we know work) and 10 pre-engineered solutions (new designs). We are also working to develop new technologies that make it easier to contain highly potent compounds.

We continue to refine the way we assess the EHS hazards of materials and integrate this into our research & development process. In 2004, our experts established new occupational exposure limits for more than 40 materials and environmental limits based on scientific data for more than 300 materials.

A task force has been established in our antibiotic business to improve control of chemical exposures during manufacture. We are also addressing the challenging task of controlling exposure to the most hazardous category of compounds during the manufacture of the final formulation of medicines that go to patients.

As with research into new medicines, testing of material hazards may involve animal experiments. GSK is committed to the principle of the ‘three Rs’ to reduce, refine and replace animal experiments. See more on occupational chemical hazard evaluation and animal testing.

See more on our approach to Occupational hygiene and control of chemical exposures.

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HIV / AIDS
(Not verified)

In 2004, we continued to provide antiretroviral treatment (ARV) to all GSK employees (full and part-time) and their families in the developing world where treatment is not provided adequately or consistently by the local healthcare system. See more on our approach to HIV.

We also developed a number of awareness-raising initiatives. For example, in 2004, our factory in Nairobi, Kenya, worked with the National AIDS Trust in the UK to develop HIV/AIDs educational materials. This was funded by our Positive Action Programme which provides support to communities around the world affected by HIV/AIDs.

We also offer preferentially priced ARVs to other employers in Sub-Saharan Africa who provide care and treatment for staff. See preferential pricing.

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