Wright_edit.qxp 23/10/08 12:49 Page 58
HSE
Safeguarding the Health of Your Employees in Today’s Litigious Society
a report by
Elizabeth Wright
Consultant Occupational Physician, and Medical Director, Occupational Health Services, Abermed
In today’s litigious society, companies are under increasing pressure to Figure 1: The Health Risk Management Process
ensure they do all they can to avoid employees developing health
problems caused by their work. As well as helping to safeguard
health, a proper system for monitoring the wellbeing of staff can both
Identify
Monitoring and
Risk
prevent future health problems and provide your company with a Evaluation
defence should a claim for compensation arise years down the line.
Eliminate
With more than 25 years of experience in the global oil and gas
Management and
industry, Abermed is now one of the leading providers of industrial Evaluation
medical services and occupational healthcare in the UK. Occupational
Risk
health covers all of the health and medical issues arising from
Assessment
employment, and our team of health professionals is experienced in all
Health
Surveillance
aspects of UK legislation and regulation as it applies to health at work,
Control
ranging from health promotion to stress and sickness management.
Health Survelliance exposure and conducting blood or urine tests to measure biological
Among the key services we offer is health surveillance, which is the uptake of chemicals.
regular monitoring of the health of employees to identify early signs
of work-related damage from exposure to hazards, and putting in At Abermed, our specialised staff:
place preventative measures in order to avoid long-term or
permanent harm. Health risk management is implemented as a • advise on risks and assist with risk assessments;
continuous process designed to cover all aspects of risk management • identify those at risk and what the risks are, which can be
(see Figure 1). In most industries, but particularly in the global oil and accomplished through workplace monitoring;
gas industry, a healthy workforce and effective working practices are • advise on control measures and procedures and the maintenance of
essential to protect the integrity of operations, since health problems records, as well as verifying the effectiveness of control measures;
can potentially result in downtime. • undertake pre-employment testing;
• manage an ongoing health surveillance programme; and
Legal Requirement • provide reports and recommendations.
In fact, health surveillance for hazards with a recognised, measurable
health effect is a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Occupational Hygiene
Work etc. Act 1974 and accompanying regulations, such as the The first stage of the process is to identify whether there is a risk to
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, Control of health from chemical, biological or physical hazards, who might be
Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations and others affected by it, what the level of risk is and what actions are required
that cover specific hazards such as lead, asbestos, noise and to control the risk. Our team of occupational hygienists provides a
vibration. Health surveillance can include checking hearing for quantitative indication of the level of risk to hazards such as
damage caused by exposure to excessive noise, measuring lung chemicals, noise, vibration, etc., which will assist in determining and
function or examining the skin for signs of damage from chemical establishing controls.
Occupational hygiene involves recognising, evaluating and then
Elizabeth Wright is a Consultant Occupational Physician
and Medical Director of Occupational Health Services at
controlling health hazards arising from work, with the aim of
Abermed Industrial Doctors. As Regional Speciality
protecting the health and wellbeing of employees. Potential hazards
Adviser for the Faculty of Occupational Medicine,
include chemicals, noise, vibration, cold, heat, ergonomics and
Dr Wright is responsible for overseeing occupational
medicine training in the North of Scotland. She is also
manual handling. Our occupational hygienists will visit clients to gain
an examiner for the Associateship and Membership of
an understanding of their business and identify possible hazards, such
the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (AFOM/MFOM)
qualifications. Previously, she served as Consultant
as gases, liquids, dust, fumes, noise, vibration, radiation or
Occupational Physician for Royal Mail in Scotland. Dr Wright spent a number of years in temperature, as well as factors such as stress and repetitive
general practice before undertaking specialist training in occupational medicine. She
movements. They will then carry out detailed sampling and analysis,
acquired her MFOM and Specialist Accreditation in 1996, having obtained an MSc in
occupational health from the University of Aberdeen in 1994. In 2002 Dr Wright was
which may include measurement of chemicals, noise, vibration, etc.
elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine.
Nurses and doctors are also brought in to carry out health
surveillance. The team’s findings are then reported back to the client.
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