New research centre to target workplace health

Aberdeen University is set to establish a £5M centre of excellence in occupational health, targeted at developing solutions to help employers reduce the direct and indirect costs of work-related health problems.

The Liberty Safework Research Centre is a joint venture with insurance specialist Liberty Occupational Health. In an added vote of support, the company plans to move its headquarters to the Aberdeen campus in the spring of next year.

Professor Malcolm Pope, the centre's newly appointed director, explained its purpose: "We are committed to promoting greater awareness of the role played by the work environment in determining the health of the nation.

"The cost of occupational ill health to UK employers and society is enormous," he said. "We intend to help employers develop preventative strategies, which can deliver measurable cost benefits." Founded in 1977 as a joint venture between the University, Shell, Esso and BP, Liberty Occupational Health originally supplied offshore medical services to the oil industry.

Backed by the international insurance giant Liberty Mutual, it has since expanded into a broader range of services throughout the UK and beyond.

Elliott Chase