Malcolm Harrington: occupational health expert who advised the government on benefits assessment

Malcolm Harrington was an influential occupational health physician who advanced the cause of workplace safety and advised the government on benefits claims.

Born in Newport, south Wales, Harrington retired as emeritus professor at the University of Birmingham in 2001. After qualifying in 1966 from the Westminster Hospital Medical School in London and initial hospital jobs, Harrington became a lecturer at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Institute for Occupational Health, located in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

During this period he also worked as a visiting scientist with the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, a formative time where he learnt his craft—from epidemiology to the investigation of workplaces to dealing with government.

On his return to the UK and a further stint at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Harrington was appointed as the Birmingham Saturday Fund Foundation professor of occupational health. He …