YOUR EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH

HEALTH SCREENING

Jesmond Cilia SN DipYS Medicare

What is occupational health?

Occupational health is about the effect of work on health and about making sure that workers are fit for the work that they do.

As an employer your duty is to:

protect workers' health against damaging effects of work; ensure that people are fit for the jobs that they are doing; investigate effects of work on health; help people with health problems or disabilities to work under

conditions which are best for them; make the workplace safer and healthier; use the workplace as an opportunity to promote health and

improve the health of the workforce. It’s about prevention rather than cure, and about

rehabilitating workers after illness.

The Occupational Health The Occupational Health TeamTeam Safety Officer Industrial Hygienist- Nurse Worker Representative Management Health Physician-Doctor Ergonomist Environmental Engineer Health Insurance Provider

The aims of health screening are threefold:

To identify pre-existing health problems. (Pre-employment screening)

To assess risk factors for disease. (Risk assessment)

To provide recommendations on lifestyle and health that will encourage a longer and healthier life. (Health maintenance)

Pre-employment medical assessments

Many companies use some form of medical assessment for potential employees before they start work. Employers want to ensure they employ people who can do the job while making sure they meet their legal duties.

The purpose of the assessment is to:

identify any health problems that might affect the prospective employee’s ability to do the job;

ensure that the work is suitable for the prospective employee;

conduct tests in cases where there are special health requirements in the work, such as food handling.

Pre employment health assessment will NOT:

predict who will be poor attendees in the future. The only known predictor of future short term absence is the individual’s previous record of attendance which can be obtained from the past employer’s reference;

select those employees who will never become sick in the future;

identify a group of supermen or superwomen who can do unreasonable amounts of work;

decide who is going to be a good employee or a pleasant work colleague.

How to assess the risks in your workplace

Follow these five steps:

STEP 1 Look for hazards. STEP 2 Decide who might be harmed and

how. STEP 3 Evaluate the risks and decide

whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done.

STEP 4 Record your findings. STEP 5 Review your assessment and revise it

if necessary.

Step 1 – Look for hazards

Ignore the trivial and concentrate on significant hazards which could result in serious harm or affect several people. Ask your employees or their representatives what they think. Manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets can help you spot hazards and put risks in their true perspective. So can accident and ill-health records.

Step 2 – Who might be harmed?

There is no need to list individuals by name – just think about groups of people doing similar work or who may be affected, e.g.

office staff maintenance personnel contractors members of the public

Step 3 – Is more needed to control the risk?

Consider how likely it is that each hazard could cause harm. This will determine whether or not you need to do more to reduce the risk. Even after all precautions have been taken, some risk usually remains. What you have to decide for each significant hazard is whether this remaining risk is high, medium or low.

For the hazards listed, determine whether the precautions already taken

meet the standards set by a legal requirement comply with a recognised industry standard represent good practice reduce risk as far as reasonably practicable

Step 4 – Record your findings

If you have fewer than five employees you do not need to write anything down, though it is useful to keep a written record of what you have done. But if you employ five or more people you must record the significant findings of your assessment. You must also tell your employees about your findings.

Risk assessments must be suitable and sufficient, not perfect. You need to be able to show that:

a proper check was made; you asked who might be affected; you dealt with all the obvious significant hazards, taking into

account the number of people who could be involved; the precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low.

Step 5 - Review and revise

Review your assessment from time to time to make sure that the precautions are still working effectively.

Ongoing assessment for new risks due to new equipment, chemicals, etc.

Health Maintenance Programes

Annual Medical for Male Employees:

height and weight measurements body mass index resting blood pressure resting electrocardiogram (ECG) urinalysis hearing test vision test lung function test prostate examination prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for the risk of prostate cancer

(over 50 years of age if clinically indicated or specifically requested after counselling)

chest x-ray if clinically indicated biochemistry profile - includes tests for cholesterol, kidney and liver

function haematology cholesterol test personal medical report - including all test results and their meaning

plus recommendations for improving and maintaining health.

Annual Medical for Female Employees:

height and weight measurements body mass index resting blood pressure resting electrocardiogram (ecg) urinalysis hearing test vision test lung function test pelvic examination cervical smear mammography (over 40 years of age)* chest x-ray if clinically indicated biochemistry profile - includes tests for cholesterol, kidney and liver

function haematology cholesterol test personal medical report - including all test results and their meaning

plus recommendations for improving and maintaining health thyroid-stimulating hormone (tsh) level (over 50 years of age).

Other Screening

Hand/arm vibration screening for manual workers Vision screening for employees working on small

components, computers Skin assessment for employees working in

contact with chemicals, sun exposure Audiometry testing for employees working in

noisy environments International travel assessments Stress and lifestyle assessment for all

employees

Onsite clinics

These health maintenance programmes can be organised on site by professional organisations and can also include

Influenza vaccination Any vaccination specific to type of

industry (hepatitis vaccination) First aid clinics

Organisational Benefits of Health Maintenance

Reduction in health related claims Reduction in employee turnover Increase in productivity Improved morale and loyalty amongst

employees Encourages top candidates to apply for

employment Enhances company image as a

progressive, caring employer

Employee Benefits of Health Maintenance

Reassurance that their employer is committed to a long term investment in them

An added benefit of their employment Advice on how to reduce risk factors by

changes in behaviour Opportunity to discuss any concerns with a

clinical professional Identifying potential risk factors before

disease is present and/or progresses.

Protect your assets. No matter what their position, each employee

plays a valuable part in the on-going success of the organisation. It makes good commercial sense to protect each individual and the organisation as a whole, by helping to ensure that, wherever possible, the workforce remain healthy and fit to perform at maximum efficiency.

No organisation would neglect to maintain its investment in property, machinery or vehicles. It makes just as much sense to maintain an equally valuable asset - its workforce.

Thank you