Lucy M Kenyon

University of Chester, Faculty of Health & Social Care, Faculty Member

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Lucy Kenyon is a senior occupational health leader, Practice Teacher for NHS NPAG, and Non-Executive Director with expertise in competency-based professional development, service innovation, and governance. Her work focuses on workability, early intervention, and the evaluation of occupational health models in improving workforce outcomes, with particular interest in digitally enabled and scalable approaches integrating human factors and organisational risk.
Lucy is a founding member of the AI in Occupational Health group and co-author of the Guidance on Artificial Intelligence in Occupational Health (iOH, 2025). She has contributed to professional education through authorship of the Quality and Audit chapter in Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing: A Guide for Practitioners, and to sector knowledge exchange through HCID publications and conference presentations, including IGPP and regional occupational health forums.
Her publication portfolio includes applied work on autism in the workplace, and occupational health responses to COVID-19 and monkeypox, reflecting a strong focus on inclusion, emerging risk, and real-world service adaptation.
Selected Publications

Kenyon, L. (2025). Quality and audit in occupational health practice. In Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing: A Guide for Practitioners.
Kenyon, L., et al. (2025). Guidance on Artificial Intelligence in Occupational Health. iOH.
Kenyon, L. (2024–2025). Autism in the workplace. HCID.
Kenyon, L. (2022–2024). Occupational health responses to H1N1, COVID-19 and Mpox.
Supervisors: Carol Cholerton, Lynda Bruce, and Marisa Stevenson
Phone: +44(0)7946329333

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Papers by Lucy M Kenyon

Compassionate Dismissal in Disability Cases: A Legally Sound and Empathetic Approach

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When testing is not enough: Occupational Health leadership in data-poor infectious disease outbreaks

OH Today, 2026

A 2026 outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus (BDBV) in the Democratic Republic of Cong... more A 2026 outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus (BDBV) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with spread into Uganda, has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) (WHO, 2026). In high consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs), decisions must be informed by testing before certainty exists. The aims are to prioritise exposure, manage uncertainty, and act proportionately. The 2026 BDBV outbreak provides a clear illustration of a broader principle-in HCIDs, judgements are essential BEFORE certainty exists. This is not a theoretical problem; similar dynamics were observed during the 2009 swine flu (H1N1) pandemic. Workforce decisions were required ahead of complete epidemiological clarity. During COVID-19, occupational health (OH) services were responsible for assessing thousands of workers returning to work with uncertain risk profiles. Subsequently, during the 2022 orthovirus monkeypox (Mpox (monkeypox virus)) outbreak, this approach was further adapted at national level as part of an outbreak management response, reinforcing the need to translate emerging evidence into rapid, operational decision-making. OH services have already demonstrated that large-scale, risk-based decision-making is both feasible and effective. For most organisations, the direct risk remains low. However, as with H1N1, Mpox (monkeypox virus) and COVID-19 before it, the more important signal sits elsewhere: in HCIDs, testing cannot be relied on as the primary risk control.

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Monkeypox: Applying the learnings from COVID-19

OH Today, 2022

Defining a population group and the role of the Occupational Health professionals in the manageme... more

format_quoteHealthcare workers, pregnant workers, and the immunocompromised are significantly at risk for worse monkeypox outcomes.format_quote

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Managing arthritis in the workplace: A guide

Occupational Health & Wellbeing; Sutton Vol. 67, Iss. 12, (Dec 2015): 20-22, 2015

Arthritis conditions and the workplace Background There are around 200 types of arthritis, and mo... more Arthritis conditions and the workplace Background There are around 200 types of arthritis, and most people know someone who has one of them. But not all have a readily identifiable name. This means that when someone says they have arthritis, it probably isn't the one you are familiar with and therefore may not affect them in the way you expect. A survey in June 2013, coinciding with national rheumatoid arthritis week, revealed delays in identifying and treating arthropathies within the 12 week "window of opportunity". Despite this a symposium on Musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace on 16 June this year reported sufferers continuing to experience difficulties obtaining a diagnosis. The impact for employers is that employees without a diagnosis will have functional difficulty carrying out their job, regardless of diagnosis label.

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Legal aspects of Occupational Health

Croner Special Reports, 2009

Legal influences on occupational health are inherently complex. This is because society, culture,... more Legal influences on occupational health are inherently complex. This is because society, culture, perception, individuality and behaviour cannot easily be legislated for or prescribed. Each case presents a unique set of circumstances, from which our dynamic legal system develops its principles and rulings that influence decisions on future cases. Defence against a claim of negligence, unfair dismissal or worse if often dependent on evidence of compliance with supporting regulations, codes of practice and standards. An everyday example of the multi-faceted issues facing health and safety risk assessment and management is that of speed cameras; and society’s support for the destruction of these by protestors, as evidenced by online campaigns and the failure of witnesses to report these particular acts of vandalism.
Dame Carol Black’s review of Occupational Health (OH) has dramatically raised the profile and perception of occupational health from factory nurse or employee benefit to independent and objective medical opinion. Employers, who make employment decisions without reference to expert occupational health opinion, will have difficulty defending those decisions. Equally this raised profile means that professionals in the field of occupational health must consider up to date knowledge and demonstrate greater understanding of the legal impact of their advice. Recent cases from employment and appeal tribunals have been selected to bring these decisions to life; and the principles and learning opportunities are summarised below.

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Transformative Teaching for Multi-disciplinary Occupational Health Professionals Embracing Freire's Pedagogy

OH Today, 2024

2023 was an incredibly busy training calendar delivering weekly courses extending well beyond the... more 2023 was an incredibly busy training calendar delivering weekly courses extending well beyond the usual Quarter 4 of the budget year into Quarter 3 of the following. My hypothesis is that employers are actively trying to address the evolving health & well-being needs of the post-COVID workforce. The greatest challenge for me was balancing my desire to be accommodating & adaptable with the demands of a cross-generational cohort of school leavers and professionals who had to adapt to home-working at short notice and who have no desire to adapt back to a commute, let alone travel to the Midlands to attend training. Feedback was sparse, and the few with strong opinions about their learning experience were our only opportunity to reflect on and develop our offering.

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Quality in occupational health

Croner Special Reports, Oct 24, 2007

Quality and audit in Occupational Health (OH) have been in the professional press since 19951, bu... more Quality and audit in Occupational Health (OH) have been in the professional press since 19951, but the issue of quality has shot to the top of the government’s agenda for Occupational Health in the last few months2. “Measuring what matters” is the headline message of the 2005 Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection.
In a recent government announcement, financial support has been promised for new projects in the NHS to provide better quality occupational health services. Rosie Winterton said "The funding of these schemes highlights the importance of occupational health services and their important role in supporting health, safety and well being in both the workforce and the community. The chosen sites are excellent examples of the good work going on throughout the NHS to reduce ill health and accidents, and improve employee morale and performance in the NHS and beyond."2
The Healthcare Commission (HCA) also launched a new web service in December 2006, to provide the public with information about performance in independent sector treatment centres. Although this does not specifically refer to Occupational Health providers, Anna Walker, Chief Executive of the Healthcare Commission said “All healthcare providers should be accountable to the communities they serve.” 3 Whether in house or via third party arrangement, occupational health serves the working population within client organisations and is therefore accountable to its service users and their representatives.
Although many of the larger OH providers sit within divisions of larger insurance companies, and are therefore subject to the Financial Services Authority rules and regulations, the self-assessment tool4 provides a useful checklist for benchmarking against NHS service providers. Having participated in this self-assessment process as part of a clinical governance strategy group, I believe that this will become a customer-friendly and recognisable industry standard that providers will use to market themselves.

format_quoteA consultative approach utilizing team members' skills can successfully introduce clients to previously unrecognized occupational health strategies.format_quote

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OH - Higher Education; Welding Fume COSHH Risk Assessments; 'A Practical Guide to Occupational Skin management'; Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing; Interview with Greta Thornbory

Resilience; Investigating Occupational Skin Problems, Vision and Hearing at Work

by Lucy M Kenyon and Lynn Pratt

Quality and audit in occupational health

Contemporary Occupational Health Nursing Practice, 2017

Quality and audit are increasingly important in healthcare provision and this chapter aims to giv... more Quality and audit are increasingly important in healthcare provision and this chapter aims to give the practitioner knowledge and tools to monitor the clinical and service delivery business aspects of occupational health (OH). The purpose of the chapter is to outline the differences between 'quality' and 'audit', how they interrelate and their significance in the OH context. There are a number of specific books and courses devoted to the subject and differing methods of ensuring quality by general and specialist audit tools. The chapter gives the reader tools to understand and assess existing audit provision for effectiveness and to signpost them to further information and resources to use to establish or adapt for their own specific requirements. In contemporary occupational settings, along with recent political drivers following the Black report, the impetus for quality audits has been from managing costs whilst improving standards and meeting statutory and regulatory standards.

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Occupational Asthma; iOH Code of Practice; Skin Health Surveillance; Work Modifications Guidance; Research Skills; Leadership

Conference Presentations by Lucy M Kenyon

IOH HWAW AI presentation

Health and Wellbeing at Work, 2025

An introduction to AI - the past, present and future: A worked example of the application in evid... more

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Lucy M Kenyon

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Conference Presentations by Lucy M Kenyon

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