Qualified Occupational Therapist – Alison Biggs

Alison Biggs, a qualified Occupational Therapist completed a degree in Occupational Therapy (BSc Hons) from Oxford Brookes University in 1993. Once registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) she worked within several healthcare fields (Medical, Surgical, Orthopaedics, Neurology, Neurosurgery and Neuro-rehabilitation).

Alison focussed on back pain management in 1995 at the Wolfson Rehab Centre, St Georges NHS Trust in London. Alongside this she developed her skills in Cognitive Assessment and client centered holistic approaches.  She worked closely with other health professionals such as Physiotherapy, Psychology, Social workers and Medical staff.   Alison Biggs occupational therapist She became increasingly involved in the impact of physical and mental health conditions on the working lives of individuals and their return to work plans.

In 1998 Alison was involved in a government funded New Deal for Disabled People project at Westminster Healthcare (now Priory Healthcare) in Leicestershire, to get people back to work who had been off sick or unemployed, due to a health condition. This was a most rewarding project and due to government interest, had a high profile within the healthcare industry.

She helped employees in a variety of industries return to work, including car manufacturing, the telecommunications industry and leading national banks & building societies. It is crucial for the employer and employee to have support from a healthcare professional.

Alison was then employed by Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust (now Imperial College NHS Trust) in London as a Back Care & Manual Handling Advisor. She was assessing the musculo-skeletal health of  employees in the trust. Nursing, medical and also desk-based staff working on computers all day. They required training to assess the risks of their tasks and working environment to find practical day to day solutions.

Healthywork Ltd

Today more employers recognise the value of looking after their employee’s health at work. As a qualified Occupational Therapist, Alison set up Healthywork Ltd in 2001. This was to deliver Occupational Health services to CEO/Directors and internal Human Resources or Occupational Health Departments. Also via independent Occupational Health organisations, Human Resources consultancies, Insurance, Case Management companies and Medico-legal organisations.

Healthywork provide a range of Occupational Health assessments. Ergonomic Workstation Assessments, Functional Capacity Evaluations, Cognitive and Mental Health Assessments, using a variety of standardised testing tools. Advising on work place reasonable adjustments to ease working and return to work. Hearing and vision assessments are also available, along with technical assessments for specialist IT equipment needs.

Alison Biggs occupational therapist with her family and two dogsMany of the assessments performed require a mix of the above, such as individuals having physical and mental health needs which need to be reviewed together, therefore the assessments aim to review the whole individual to ensure all advice required is provided, to help in the process of them being productive at work.

Alison keeps up to date in this expanding field taking an active role in several organisations. As a qualified Occupational Therapist, she is a member of the British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT) part of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) and is an associate member of The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF). She is also an active member of RCOT Specialist Section – Work (RCOT SS-Work), recently being Chair of their National Executive Committee (May 2017 – Nov 2019) after other roles on the committee over the last 10-15 years.

Alison is also a member of RCOT Specialist Section – Independent Practice (RCOT SS-IP), and of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association UK (VRA).  and of the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM) and was a speaker at their annual Occupational Health Conference in June 2017 and June 2019 on the role of Occupational Therapists in Occupational Health.

Alison is also a volunteer verifier for the London Healthy Workplaces Award Scheme run by the Greater London Authority, City Hall, so is part of the network of experts who qualitatively assess employers against the nine standards of the award.

Alison regularly attends events such the Health and Wellbeing @ Work Conference and Exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham held every March, the OccupationalTherapy Show and the NAIDEX Exhibition. She has attended networks such as NEHIN (National Employment and Health Innovations Network) and been involved with government policy development via the Council for Work and Health as Chair of RCOT SS Work.

Post graduate training is ongoing and Alison has attended Matheson Functional Capacity Training in 2003 and Job Demands Analysis & Work Hardening training in 2004. Ergonomic Assessment training in 2011 and specialist training in Cognitive Assessment and treatment during 2014. Cancer & workplace adjustments, Mental Health/Mental Fitness practice updates and Pain Management training updates were conducted in 2015 & 2016.

In 2019, she attended a conference on sleep disorders, shifts patterns and its impact on work. Also an event on the impact of trauma. Alison regularly attends webinar bite size training, covering topis such as Autism & neurodiversity in the workplace, brain injury and most recently the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the physical and mental health of individuals.

Alison has provided assessments for the Governments ‘Access to Work‘ scheme over the years, in order that individuals can be assisted in order that they can remain in work.

She has has spoken at back pain prevention conferences for the British Dental Association. Lectured on Vocational Rehabilitation at the National Back Exchange Conference and OT Show. She has presented on Functional Capacity Evaluation and Ergonomics for health professionals.

Our Associate Practioners

Healthywork Ltd has a number of associates, highly qualified in this field with their own areas of expertise. These professionals can conduct assessments, treatment and training as required thus allowing us to offer a country-wide service.

Recent Posts

Testimonials

Somek and Associates

Healthywork Clients - Somek

I have known and worked with Alison Biggs of Healthywork since 2003. I have always found her to be extremely professional and committed any work project, and very knowledgeable about her specialist field.

Ergonomic Assessments and Functional Capacity Assessments for Medico-legal cases provided in Essex, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and London.

Alison Somek

Sensory Dimensions

Ergonomic Assessment Functional Capacity Assessment Evaluation DSE Assessment Workstation Milton Keynes Cambridge Oxford North London - sensory

Many thanks indeed for the report.  Very thorough and a lot for us to do to help our member of staff.

I really appreciate the quick turn around.  (May 2017)

Simon Hails
Sensory Dimensions

Survey feedback following a DSE Assessment

Well worth having a trained professional actually observe you at your workspace as small adjustments can improve comfort and health.

Sept 2017

Anonymous

Survey feedback following a DSE Assessment

It (The DSE Assessment) provided some invaluable advice and recommendations to help make my workstation more comfortable and prevent future injury.

Anonymous

Jan 2018

Anonymous

CRF Institute/Britains Top Employers

Our visit from Alison was an eye-opener. We thought that we knew what we were doing but every single team member learned something new. We learned how to use our equipment properly, we learned how to sit properly and we have all made adjustments to how we work since her visit. Everyone in the team has given feedback since that they are more comfortable in their daily work, and one person who has been in pain for months has changed her position and is now pain-free. Alison is friendly, easy to work with and great value for money. As manager, I thought that I would have to invest in a lot of new equipment but the reality is simply that we weren’t using what we had properly. I would definitely use Alison again and will write a workstation assessment into our on-boarding process for any new employees joining our team.

Eleanor Nickerson, Manager CRF Institute/Britains Top Employers

Viridor Ltd

I found today’s assessment very helpful indeed, and am trying my best to keep my keyboard as close to me as possible – makes a big difference when I do, it’s even increased my speed and accuracy, lol.

Also, and more to the point, the pain in my back hasn’t got any worse today, and I haven’t used the wrist support, so having my arms supported (on arm rests) is clearly doing something for them already.

V. Jones Viridor Ltd

GMG Color Ltd

Ergonomic Assessment Functional Capacity Assessment Evaluation DSE Assessment Workstation Milton Keynes Cambridge Oxford North London - gmg

‘I contacted Alison a couple of months ago and she came up to see me and my team quite recently, Alison was very thorough with everyone, some people needed an hour with her others just 10 minutes, however everybody got something out of her visit, the visit was informative but not long winded and not rushed.

I was also very impressed with the level of information supplied for each individual after the visit, which has enabled me to order what was needed (however I could have done without the cost this involved!!).

Overall I would highly recommend Alison and Healthywork Ltd’. (June 2017)

Ian Probert
GMG Color Ltd

HEFCE

logo

Healthywork Ltd have been extremely helpful over the last year and provided us with a very good service at very short notice.

The quality of their work place assessment reports and recommendations are extremely high. In addition, the employees involved have commented on the extremely helpful knowledge and support provided by the work place assessor.

(Assessments provided in Bristol and Central London).

Sarah de Vere, HR Manager, Higher Education Funding Council for England, based in Bristol
HEFCE

Ergonomic Assessment testimonial by Capita

Ergonomic Assessment testimonial by Capita

Ergonomic Assessment testimonial by Capita

I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Alison Biggs from Healthywork Ltd. The reason is simple: she will provide the service that you require.

Healthywork delivered approx 750 Ergonomic Assessment to the customer Royal Bank of Scotland, and other companies in the RBS group such as Direct Line, NIG Insurance, Churchill Insurance, Coutts & Drummonds. Assessments were conducted all over the UK as bank branch and regional office assessments were required.

Fiona Colegrave

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine

Healthywork Clients - Top employers

Alison provided workstation assessments and advice during our relocation. Although we are a small organisation it was important to obtain professional and expert help and I would recommend Alison to others without hesitation. (Workstation Risk Assessments and Ergonomic Assessments 2012)

Kathryn Swanston, Chief Executive, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine