Dr Steve Boorman MBBS MRCGP FFOM FRCP

summary

A doctor with long experience in one of the UKs largest businesses, as a clinician and business leader. He led the ministerial review of the NHS, which made a convincing business case for the impact of staff well-being on organisational performance. His work in Royal Mail has been independently evaluated and has won widespread recognition

biography

Steve is Director of Corporate Responsibility, and Chief Medical Adviser to Royal Mail Group, and an experienced consultant in occupational health.

Steve has worked in Royal Mail for nineteen years, leading its occupational health and welfare team up to its outsourcing in 2002. As Chief Medical Adviser he has responsibility for developing occupational health approaches across a diverse, widespread and complex business, which has included working actively on absence reduction and substantially changing Royal Mail’s occupational health (OH) and welfare provision in recent years. Royal Mail’s occupational health provision is one of the largest in the UK and has won many awards and is frequently cited as a leading model of workplace health care. Although an experienced clinician, his role is one of a specialist leader and manager in an organisation competing in a commercially challenging environment.

Royal Mail’s corporate turnaround over recent years has achieved significant improvements in profitability, quality of service and employee morale – Steve has been directly involved in the cross business initiatives on managing attendance and supporting changes to make the business “a great place to work” . He was also involved in redesigning the organisation’s ill health retirement scheme, improving opportunities for rehabilitation and developing innovative support to managers.

His Royal Mail experience has included a wide variety of roles, and he was appointed as Royal Mail’s first Corporate Responsibility Director in January 2003, developing approaches across health, safety, environment and social responsibility areas and establishing governance and reporting arrangements. Royal Mail’s approach to CSR has also won many awards, as an overall programme and for individual constituents such as its approach to occupational health – including winning RoSPA’s prestigious Astor Trophy recognition for OH and Business in The Community’s National Big Tick for Excellence.

In 2009 Steve was invited by the Secretary of State for Health to lead a review of the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce. The “Boorman Review” reported in November 2009, with all its recommendations rapidly accepted by the Health Secretary and Department of Health. Its findings were incorporated in the NHS strategic plan for the future and the work provides clear evidence for the link between employee health and well-being and organisational performance (efficiency, productivity and quality). Steve is an active member of a number of national groups developing preventative public health initiatives and improved access to quality occupational health support.

Steve is an honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer with the Institute of Occupational Medicine, University of Birmingham, and is a Past President of the Royal Society of Medicine’s Section of Occupational Medicine. He has Chief Examiner to the Faculty of Occupational Medicine’s Diploma in Occupational Medicine examination for over ten years. In addition, he was also editor to the Faculty of Occupational Medicine’s working group on age and workplace health, and member of the working group developing GP training on fitness for work.

Steve has published widely, most recently on employee support practices for large organisations and in the leading textbook on men’s health.  Steve presents regularly both in the UK and internationally on issues of workplace health, safety and corporate responsibility.

His career prior to working in Royal Mail included a period as a civil servant (as Medical Advisor within the Department of Transport), qualifying and working as General Practitioner in rural Warwickshire, and a broad range of NHS SHO roles on both surgical training rotations and general practice vocational training schemes.

Aside from his medical interests he has served as a school governor, as Trustee to two large charities and in the past as Rag Chairman and Student Union President for his University Medical School. He has built two hospital radio studios and pursued a broad range of voluntary work.

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Testimonials

‘Steve Boorman has always made a huge impact at the many Men’s Health Forum events at which he has spoken. He has the rare knack of combining knowledge, insight and vision with clarity, humour and genuine warmth. His pathbreaking work for Royal Mail and, more recently, the Department of Health also marks him out as one of the key leaders in the increasingly important health, work and wellbeing field.’
Peter Baker, Chief Executive, Men’s Health Forum