A small Cumbrian occupational health business has been recognised nationally.

Choose Occupational Health, located in Hartington Street, Carlisle, has gained the Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Service (SEQOHS) accreditation.

Sandra Holliday, an ex-nurse from Carlisle, birthed the idea of Choose Occupational Health.

Despite numerous challenges, including flooding, the Covid-19 pandemic, and demanding personal battles, Ms Holliday and her dedicated team of nine have made their mark in the industry.

Receiving SEQOHS accreditation involves an independent assessment process, and Choose is only the second Occupational Health Service in Cumbria to succeed.

Ms Holliday said: "The team was absolutely buzzing when we found out we had been successful.

“It took over a year and involved a huge amount of work. We had to submit a lot of evidence across 50 different standards.

"We did a huge piece of work on training and our staff attended around 20 courses, and our clinical lead Tracy Bland gained a first-class honours degree during the process.”

Currently, Choose Occupational Health manages more than 500 clients across Cumbria.

Their customer base spans from larger firms with 1,000 employees to smaller businesses with just half a dozen.

To meet clients' diverse needs, the services offered range from help in legal obligation fulfilment, health screening, and absence management to additional support services such as counselling, stress management, and physiotherapy.

SEQOHS accreditation is voluntary, with accreditation standing for five years subject to yearly monitoring.

Ms Holliday said: "It gives businesses reassurance we are at the industry recognised standard, that we know what we are doing and the support we are going to provide will be legally robust."

In 2015 the business was driven away from its initial premises due to flooding, and Ms Holliday has seen many challenges since then.

She shared: "It has not always been easy and during lockdown, things were really tough.

“My dad was diagnosed with dementia and in February 2022 he died of Covid-19 just before I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I aimed to develop this business for Cumbria so when they said yes, we had achieved the accreditation, it felt like it validated everything."

Choose Occupational Health had its roots in a private enterprise named CueDoc Holdings Ltd, which was founded by a group of local GPs.

Sandra was entrusted with the development of the service and she bought it out in 2011.

While many businesses are grappling with recruitment and financial challenges, Sandra emphasised the critical role occupational health and wellbeing play in employee retention.

She said: "It has a direct impact on the productivity of the business.

"If employees can see that managers want them to be safe and well in their work and supported when they are not well, they are more loyal.

“If there are Cumbrian businesses which are not sure about occupational health, we are very happy to talk to them and support them."