health surveillance - darlington borough council · 2020. 2. 13. · health surveillance in...

- DARLINGTON - BOROUGH COUNCIL

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

Health Surveillance Corporate Health and Safety Arrangements

Document Name Health Surveillance

Document Number CSA053

Authorised By Health and Safety Team

Date of Issue May 2019

Dates Reviewed Amendments Authorised By

January 2013 July 2013 Health and Safety Team

May 2019 Scheduled review including update to responsibilities and health surveillance requirements.

Health and Safety Team


Contents

1 PURPOSE .................................................................................................................. 1

2 DISTRIBUTION........................................................................................................... 1

3 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1

4 RESPONSIBILITIES...................................................................................................... 1

4.1 MANAGERS, SUPERVISORS, TEAM LEADERS..................................................................................................................1 4.2 EMPLOYEES............................................................................................................................................................2 4.3 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE...............................................................................................................................2 4.4 XENTRALL (AS PART OF RECRUITMENT PROCESS)...........................................................................................................2 4.5 HUMAN RESOURCES................................................................................................................................................2 4.6 HEALTH AND SAFETY TEAM.......................................................................................................................................3

5 WHY CARRY OUT HEALTH SURVEILLANCE? ................................................................ 3

6 WHEN IS HEALTH SURVEILLANCE APPROPRIATE?....................................................... 3

7 SPECIFIC HAZARDS THAT REQUIRE HEALTH SURVEILLANCE ........................................ 4

8 WHO CAN CARRY OUT HEALTH SURVEILLANCE? ........................................................ 4

8.1 EMPLOYEE SELF-CHECKS ...........................................................................................................................................4 8.2 QUALIFIED PERSON..................................................................................................................................................5 8.3 CLINICIAN ..............................................................................................................................................................5

9 OTHER HEALTH MONITORING PROCEDURES.............................................................. 5

10 DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME.................. 5

11 RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 5

12 PRE-EMPLOYMENT.................................................................................................... 6

13 HR PERFORMANCE AND SUPPORT – RECALL PROCEDURE .......................................... 6

14 MONITORING AND EVALUATION............................................................................... 8

15 APPENDIX 1 – HEALTH SURVEILLANCE PROCESS DIAGRAM ........................................ 9

16 APPENDIX 2 – KNOWN RISKS REFERRAL FORM – OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH ............... 10

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Corporate Health and Safety Arrangements Health Surveillance

1 Purpose

To give managers guidance on meeting the legal requirements to provide health surveillance to those employees identified as being at risk. This arrangement can also be used in ensuring employees are aware of their responsibilities in association with health surveillance.

2 Distribution

To be brought to the attention of all managers who are responsible for service areas where employees may be exposed to risks that require health surveillance.

3 Introduction

Every year thousands of people become ill due to the work activities they carry out, some suffer from diseases or conditions that can mean years of pain. However, occupational ill health is preventable by taking effective steps to control health risks at work. One of these steps is to ensure appropriate Health Surveillance is arranged for those employees identified as being at risk.

Health Surveillance is about putting in place systematic, regular and appropriate procedures to detect early signs of work related ill health; and acting on the results. Methods can be simple or more complex depending on the risks to employees from the hazards of the job. Common examples of Health Surveillance include:

DSE (Display Screen Equipment) Use: Vision Screening; Muscular Assessment; and Workstation Assessment; Availability of eyesight tests to those employees who use DSE.

Drivers: Occupational Health Assessment for Large Goods or Passenger Carrying vehicles drivers and drivers of Fork Lift Trucks (specified by the DVLA and Road Traffic Act 1988).

Noise: Hearing tests if exposed at levels of 80Db or above.

Vibration: Self reporting examination or questionnaire and Occupational Health examination where required.

Asbestos, lead, compressed air: Occupational Health Assessment.

Substances Hazardous to Health (Varies depending on substance): Self reporting; Occupational Health Assessment; sensitiser tests; Skin surveillance; Blood tests; and Urine tests.

Ionising Radiations: Dosimetry; Personal monitoring.

Laser users: Eye examinations.

Confined spaces: Use of respiratory protective equipment (RPE); Occupational Health medical.

Pregnant workers: Occupational Health assessment or questionnaire.

Night Work: Occupational Health Assessment or questionnaire (offered under the Working Time Regulations 1998

4 Responsibilities

General health and safety responsibilities for all DBC employees can be found in the Corporate Health and Safety Policy.

4.1 Managers, supervisors, team leaders

Managers and Team Leaders are responsible for the day-to-day management of health, safety and welfare arrangements within their service area and ensuring task based risk assessments are completed and identify activities in which health surveillance is required. Further responsibilities for managers are:

To discuss the need and reasons for carrying out health surveillance with employees;

Ensure that ‘Known Risks’ forms are completed as required (further information is provided in this arrangement);

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To manage employees on the Health Surveillance Programme by ensuring they attend Occupational Health appointments. HR supports this by generating a quarterly report of employees on the programme that managers will use to identify those employees who require appointments. Also inform HR of any changes such as new employees or those that no longer require health surveillance. Monthly reports will also be sent to managers of employees due Occupational Health appointments to act as a reminder;

Maintain records for those employees identified as needing Health Surveillance and ensure compliance with Occupational Health recommendations. Where necessary carry out a personal risk assessment with the employee.

To inform the Health and Safety Team of any Occupational Health certificate that they receive which contains a diagnosis of work related illness so that it can be reported, as defined in the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).

Managers are responsible for ensuring that agency workers are fit to carry out the role they are recruited for; and where they are exposed to hazards that may require health surveillance the manager must arrange health screening as relevant.

4.2 Employees

Employees must report any ill health which may have been caused by work activities. They are responsible for attending Health Surveillance appointments with Occupational Health and complying with any corrective measures that may be required as a consequence of developing ill health.

4.3 Occupational Health Service

The Occupational Health Service is responsible for carrying out suitable health surveillance in response to referrals, completed known risks documentation and in accordance with their agreed procedures. Occupational Health professionals advise employees and managers on action to be taken in response to results of health checks where required.

4.4 Xentrall (as part of recruitment process)

As required send a copy of the medical questionnaire to new employee for completion.

Forward copies of completed known risks forms to Occupational Health, along with job description and person specification.

Discuss with HR any issues identified on the certificate received from Occupational Health.

Enter certificate details, including recall requirements onto HR Database.

Place certificate in the new starter pack.

4.5 Human Resources

There are a number of responsibilities within Human Resources (HR):

HR Performance and Service Support are responsible for booking appointments and recording employees’ health surveillance certificates onto the PSE system (except at pre-employment stage) and forwarding a copy to the relevant manager.

HR Performance and Service Support will inform managers of those employees who ‘do not attend’ an appointments.

On a monthly basis HR Performance and Service Support will report to managers on those employees that require health surveillance and on advice from the manager will make the appointment for that employee when the manager has suggested a suitable time.

On a quarterly basis HR Performance and Service Support will generate a complete report for managers of all employees on the Health Surveillance Programme.

HR Advisory provides supporting information at the request of the Health and Safety Team when a RIDDOR report needs to be completed.

HR Advisory provides advice and support to the manager if significant changes need to be made with a job role.

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4.6 Health and Safety Team

The Health and Safety Team is responsible for notifying cases of occupational ill health to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as required by RIDDOR legislation. They offer advice and guidance on all aspects of this arrangement and can assist managers with risk assessments.

5 Why carry out Health Surveillance?

Some forms of health surveillance are required by law; others are undertaken as good practice. Health surveillance can provide information so that managers can detect harmful health effects at an early stage, thereby protecting employees and confirming whether they are still fit to carry out their job.

Many forms of health surveillance enable managers to check that control measures in risk assessments are working or identify where further action might be required. Carrying out health surveillance also provides an opportunity to train and instruct employees further in safe and healthy working practices for example, how to correctly use personal protective equipment and give employees a chance to raise any concerns about the effect of their work on their health.

6 When is Health Surveillance appropriate?

Health surveillance in isolation does not manage the risk of occupational ill health; it is only part of the management process. The starting point is to carry out task based risk assessments, and through this process, hazards will be identified that could cause damage to health. If the hazard cannot be removed then health surveillance is one of the controls that an employer will consider. The risk assessment process will include the following:

What health hazards are present? i.e. solvents; fumes; dusts; biological agents; asbestos; lead; noise; working in compressed air; ionising radiations; diving; and vibration.

Which employees might be at risk from being exposed to the hazards? The completion of known risk forms for new employees and existing employees will assist with this.

What can be done to make sure an employees’ health is not harmed? Can the hazard be removed to eliminate the risk? If not, the risk should be reduced and controlled to a level that ensures it will not cause harm to health. Where this is not possible further controls such as the introduction of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and health surveillance will be required.

Health surveillance is required if you answer ‘yes’ to all of the following when completing your task based risk assessments;

Is the work known to damage health in some particular way?

Are there any valid ways to detect the disease or condition? Valid techniques are those that are precise enough to detect something wrong that could be caused by exposure to a particular health risk; and which is safe and practicable in a work setting. Health surveillance is only worthwhile where it can reliably show that damage to health is starting to happen or is becoming likely.

Is it reasonably likely that damage to health may occur under the particular conditions at work?

Is surveillance likely to benefit the employee?

For example, these criteria would be met in the following circumstances:

High noise levels are known to cause hearing loss. A valid technique i.e. a hearing test, can detect the effect of noise on the hearing of individuals who work in noisy conditions. Hearing tests will benefit employees by identifying those at risk so that measures can be taken to protect them and improve working conditions.

Other ways for assessing whether health surveillance may be appropriate include;

Previous cases of work related ill health in the workplace;

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Where you rely on PPE as a control measure i.e. gloves or respirators. Even with the closest supervision there is no guarantee that PPE will be effective at all times;

Where there is evidence of ill health in jobs found in your industry. Such information could come from insurance claims, manufacturers and suppliers’ data, HSE and other guidance.

7 Specific hazards that require health surveillance

For employees working with hazardous substances such as chemicals, solvents, fumes, dusts, gases and vapours, aerosols and biological agents, health surveillance may be required under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999.

Other regulations that require health surveillance for specific hazards include:

Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006;

Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2007;

Work in Compressed Air Regulations 1996;

Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005;

Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005;

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992.

Health surveillance is not a legal duty in many cases including: manual handling work that may lead to stress – related diseases, work related upper limb disorders, hot and cold working, and non – ionising electromagnetic radiation. This is mainly because ways to detect ill health conditions associated with these hazards do not exist and/ or the link between the work activity and the ill health effect is uncertain. Nevertheless other procedures should be used, for example symptom reporting by employees and checking sickness absence records, to ensure you pick up possible ill health among your employees as early as possible.

Where it is relevant to their employees, managers must read specific corporate health and safety arrangements which refer to health surveillance. They are:

Asbestos Management

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

Hand Arm Vibration Arrangement

Control of Noise at Work

Health surveillance is not required where you are sure there is no exposure or where the exposures that do take place are so rare, short and slight that there is only minimal risk of the employee being harmed. Where minimal risks are identified or exposure is short, health surveillance can only truly be ruled out by carrying out a risk assessment along with any necessary investigations i.e. noise level checks, HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome) monitoring and equipment checks etc. For minimal risk or limited exposure other controls will be required to be recorded on the risk assessment. In the case of Hand Arm Vibration a decision has been made by Darlington Borough Council that a level of agreed health surveillance will be undertaken for all employees who have exposure to vibratory tools. This is following a risk based approach and is above legislative requirements but aims to identify employees who may, despite low exposure, have underlying conditions.

8 Who can carry out health surveillance?

8.1 Employee self-checks

Employee self-checks make up part of the health surveillance programme. Employees shall be instructed (during health surveillance and training) to look for signs and symptoms of disease and know who to report to if they have concerns. For instance early signs of skin damage such as redness or itching could be identified by an employee who works with substances which can cause skin damage.

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8.2 Qualified person

An Occupational Health Nurse can carry out assessments for sensitising agents (spirometry), or can act upon employee questionnaire information about their health. Technical specialists such as Audiologists carry out hearing tests. Opticians carry out eyesight tests on employees who have identified a need on completion of the DSE assessment process.

8.3 Clinician

For some hazards there is a legal duty for clinical examination and these must be carried out by a doctor. They may also be required to take referrals from a responsible person or Occupational Health Nurse when they identify that an employee’s work related ill health needs further investigation. The doctor may be required to carry out biological monitoring for certain employees. This may, for example, include blood tests for lead. Sometimes the taking of samples, if straightforward, can be done by a suitably trained person.

9 Other health monitoring procedures

There are a number of other things that can be done to monitor the health of employees, however these should not be confused with health surveillance and do not come under the scope of the health surveillance regulations. Some may be legal requirements i.e. fitness for work and others are not legal duties but can be used for other purposes i.e. general annual health checks.

The most common examples with no legal duty are:

General non-statutory pre-employment health enquiries to check an individual’s health status and medical history.

Monitoring sickness absence records. These can be a useful source of intelligence and a means of assessing risk where more formal health surveillance procedures are not appropriate. Looking at collective sickness records could help you identify where there is a general problem affecting workers’ health. Individual sickness records might indicate whether work is affecting an individual’s health.

Lifestyle health promotion and education to explain the benefits of, for example, enjoying a healthy diet, taking regular exercise, drinking sensibly and stopping smoking. This might be extended to include screening clinics, for example to test cholesterol and blood pressure levels. These activities are usually part of a benefits package, one purpose of which may be to reduce sickness absence.

Annual health checks of key personnel. These can be extended to ‘health MOTs’ for all employees and could also help to assess the impact of health education at work.

General testing of workers for evidence of drug or alcohol misuse, unless there are specific safety-critical implications.

10 Darlington Borough Council Health Surveillance Programme

The aim of the health surveillance programme is to protect workers at risk from significant exposure to harmful agents and to further educate employees about how they can look after their own health both at work and home.

The programme also ensures compliance with legislative requirements and the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. The health surveillance process is outlined as a flow chart in appendix 1.

11 Risk Assessment

Managers must ensure when completing task based risk assessment they identify hazards that require health surveillance. These include asbestos, lead, noise, vibration, hazardous substances; or are employees who undertake significant night work, are required to drive large goods vehicles or passenger carrying vehicles; or work in confined spaces where they are required to use breathing apparatus or specialised equipment.

Findings of the task based risk assessments and any further specific risk assessments i.e. COSHH, HAV or noise will identify through a risk based approach when there is a specific need for health surveillance. If health surveillance is

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required then this must be detailed in the control measures and implemented. Managers must refer to corporate health and safety arrangements for specific guidance regarding COSHH, HAV and noise.

Managers shall familiarise themselves with the ‘Known Risks’ referral form CSR053 (see appendix 2) so that they understand what is included in the risk based Health Surveillance Programme. Guidance notes on the reverse of the form are there to assist managers but if in any doubt about whether it affects their employee they should complete the form or contact the Health and Safety Team for advice.

If there is significant change in role for employees, the manager must review their risk assessments. If the hazards identified now include work which requires health surveillance then the manager must complete the ‘Known Risk’ form available on the health and safety pages of the intranet (Appendix 2). Examples of when this may be relevant include:

The employee may have taken on a new task that has previously been identified as needing health surveillance (i.e. internal transfer or a redeployed employee);

The service may have taken on a new processes or equipment that expose employees to health risk;

A greater understanding of processes may have identified areas that need health surveillance with Occupational Health though it may not previously have been the case.

A completed ‘Known Risks’ form for each employee affected is sent, by the manager, to Occupational Health with supplementary information about the change of role i.e. a copy of the risk assessment, job description etc. to assist the Occupational Health Advisor identify the need for health surveillance. Occupational Health contacts the manager if an appointment is required. The manager will contact HR Performance and Service Support to arrange an appointment.

12 Pre-Employment

When a new employee is being appointed to a post the appointing manager (as part of the recruitment process) must complete a ‘Known Risks’ form CSR053. This form is saved in the manager’s short listing folder and will be forwarded to Occupational Health by Xentrall along with a job description and person specification. If Xentrall receive the form from the manager stating that the new employee is likely to be exposed to known risks in the course of their employment they will send a detailed medical questionnaire to the applicant asking them to complete and return to Occupational Health. The applicant returns the completed medical questionnaire directly to Occupational Health.

Once the Occupational Health Advisor is in receipt of all the relevant forms they can make an informed decision on action to take. If Occupational Health Advisor needs to see the new employee for assessment they will contact them to make that appointment (sending out the relevant questionnaire for completion prior to the appointment). Where health surveillance is required under statutory legislation it is important that the new employee is assessed in order to establish baseline data. Following this initial assessment the Occupational Health Advisor will complete a certificate which is returned to Xentrall. If any issues are identified Xentrall will discuss these with HR directly. Xentrall will enter the certificate details onto the HR database along with any recall requirements and place the certificate in the new starter pack sent to HR.

In certain high risk groups (such as horticulture and arbor) a HAVS/Noise baseline test will be required.

13 HR Performance and Support – Recall Procedure

After pre-employment or health surveillance checks the Occupational Health Advisor supplies a certificate, signed and dated, to HR Performance and Support by placing it in a shared folder accessible to HR who will add it to the HR database. A copy is emailed from HR Performance and Service Support to the manager.

If there is any conclusion other than ‘fit to work’ then Occupational Health will send a certificate directly to the manager without undue delay. The employee is given as much information as possible by the health professional assessing them at the time of the assessment. This will include the health risks associated with their work and what

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early symptoms to look out for. They must be encouraged to raise concerns with managers or supervisors and be issued with any agreed written material such as a HAV information card.

Occupational Health issue a certificate with the following results:

Fit for work – HR Performance and Service Support put result onto the HR database and email a copy of the certificate to the relevant manager. Manager keeps this for their own records and as evidence that risk assessment controls in place are suitable and sufficient.

Fit for work with further controls required – further controls such as an audiometry test indicates an early problem. Occupational Health will notify the relevant manager of what further controls are necessary such as better hearing protection.

Fit for work with some restrictions – Occupational Health must communicate this information to managers as soon as possible detailing specific recommendations. HR Performance and Service Support put result onto the HR database and email a copy of the certificate to the relevant manager. Managers must communicate the findings of the Occupational Health certificate to the employee and document that they have done so. They will also carry out a review of the personal risk assessment, if there are any changes that have to be made to employees work activities this must be discussed and documented. The manager can consult the Health and Safety Team, or HR Advisory for guidance and must report to them any diagnosis that might require reporting under RIDDOR legislation.

Unfit for work - Occupational Health will inform the manager as soon as possible detailing specific recommendations. As above the manager must communicate the findings with the employee, ensure risk assessments are reviewed and control measures put into place and documented to adequately manage the risk of exposure. Further advice regarding job roles is to be sought from the relevant HR Advisor. The manager must inform the Health and Safety team who will report the diagnosis under RIDDOR legislation. A copy of the certificate placed in the shared folder will be entered on to HR database by HR.

When an employee has an occupational health assessment as part of health surveillance, the health professional will decide the frequency of further appointments. The results of the tests together with procedures agreed with DBC will determine the frequency of recall for further surveillance. HR Performance and Service Support are made aware of this on the Occupational Health certificates. HR checks this folder regularly and logs new reports onto the HR database with a future date for health surveillance appointments.

A monthly report is produced by HR Performance and Support which identified employees who are due health surveillance appointments in the next month. The manager will contact HR to request an appointment. Whilst HR will make that appointment it is the manager’s responsibility to inform the employee and ensure they attend that appointment. Further to this, a quarterly report will be generated by HR which will list all employees on the health surveillance programme. Managers must review the report and use it for forward planning and to ensure that all employees that should be on the programme actually are.

If results suggest that major change is required i.e. change of job role or major change of hours worked then the employee will be referred to the Occupational Health Physician. In the interim the Occupational Health Nurse can place temporary restrictions on time or aspects of the employee’s job. Employees with results such as ‘hearing category 3 from a first time audio test’ will be referred to the Occupational Health Physician who will give advice and guidance to the employee. Occupational Health will refer the employee to outside agencies where specific expertise is required.

Where any health information is written down, such as sensitising agent statement of assessments, records have to be kept for a minimum of 40 years. These records are held by Occupational Health. There is a legal duty under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) to report certain occupational diseases. Managers must inform Health and Safety Team of any diagnosis so that they can complete these reports on behalf of the Council as required in the Accident and Incident Reporting and Investigation Arrangement. Supplementary information is provided by HR Advisory when requested.

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14 Monitoring and Evaluation

DBC has Key Performance Indicators which are in place to monitor the health surveillance programme. These are:

100% Occupational Health Surveillance interventions completed for HAVS

Number of reportable diseases.

In terms of service provision managers will monitor the health surveillance arrangements by reviewing the report generated from the HR database and identifying any instances where employees do not appear on the report who should or where repeat appointments are not identified in a timely manner.

The Health and Safety Team carry out audits of services and of specific legislation. Where health surveillance is relevant it will be audited and recommendations given in accordance with legislation and this arrangement.

For further information contact the Health and Safety Team 01325 406259 or email Health&[email protected]

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15 Appendix 1 – Health Surveillance Process Diagram

Task specific/ Activity based risk assessments identify hazards that require health surveillance as a control measure.

NoMaintain

No

HR informs manager no further action required.

HR issues quarterly report of all employees on the Health Surveillance

HR sends monthly report to managers of employees due health surveillance.

Manager completes known risks form (appendix 2) for each employee that is exposed to or is at risk.

A copy of the known risks form is to be sent to Occupational Health with a copy of the risk assessment completed and the relevant job description.

Occupational Health evaluates the information and confirms the requirement for health surveillance and informs the manager of this. This is where a risk based approach is agreed. Is ongoing Health surveillance required?

Manager initiates health surveillance intervention (questionnaire or appointment)

HR books an appointment and HR receives a certificate following the appointment. HR adds/updates the employee’s record on HR database including recall requirements. Is management action required?

Yes

Where issues have been identified Occupational Health must send the certificate directly to manager.

Manager discusses with the employee, completes a risk assessment and implements controls.

Yes

If necessary the manager informs H&S team to complete RIDDOR report.

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16 Appendix 2 – Known Risks Referral Form – Occupational Health

Known risks referral form – Occupational Health

Employee Name (For pre-employment, to be completed by Xentrall recruitment team)

Job Title

Service Group/ School/ Department

Details of person completing this form Name

Job Title

Contact Number

Known risks to employees’ health are detailed on this form together with explanatory notes overleaf. They are risks that can be reduced with the assistance of the Occupational Health Surveillance Programme. Please read the explanatory notes carefully and refer to your task based risk assessments which should have already identified hazards where health surveillance is required.

If you answer YES to any question or statement the form must be sent to Occupational Health for assessment.

Please complete the document as thoroughly as possible to enable the Occupational Health Advisor to make an informed judgement on future actions. If you have any queries about how to complete this form please contact the Health and Safety Team on 01325 406259

In the course of their work this employee,

A) ASBESTOS YES

Is likely to be exposed to asbestos

B) LEAD

May be exposed to lead or lead based products

C) NOISE

Is at risk from noise that might affect their health

D) VIBRATION

Will be exposed to vibration likely to be above the exposure action level.

Will be exposed to vibration below the exposure action level.

E) NIGHT WORK

May require a health assessment for night work

F) COSHH

Is exposed to hazardous substances as detailed overleaf

G) DRIVING

Is required to drive any vehicle (including their own)

Is required to drive a LGV / PCV / FLT or similar

H) CONFINED SPACE

Is required to work in a confined space where specialist equipment or breathing apparatus is needed

I) CONSTRUCTION PLANT

Is required to operation any construction plant?

OTHER – PLEASE SPECIFY

Signature of Manager / Head Teacher Date

Once completed this form must be sent to Occupational Health (For pre-employment form to be completed and saved into the short listing folder)

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Known Risks - Explanatory Notes

A) ASBESTOS Employees liable to be exposed to asbestos must be under suitable medical surveillance by HSE appointed doctor. This is mainly aimed at employees who are required to work with asbestos. The medical that is carried out will alert employees of any particular problems in relation to the wearing of respirators and provide an indication of any diseases that may stop them from working with asbestos, and fitness to work with asbestos.

B) LEAD Employees liable to be exposed to lead must be under suitable medical surveillance where:

The exposure to lead is likely to be significant;

Blood lead concentration is measured and equals or exceed levels detailed in the regulations;

A HSE appointed doctor certifies that the employee should be under such medical surveillance and confirms the time interval between medicals.

C) NOISE Health surveillance hearing checks must be provided for all employees who are likely to be regularly exposed above the upper exposure action values, or at risk for any reason e.g. they already suffer from hearing loss or are particularly sensitive to damage.

Ideally health surveillance should start before people are exposed to the noise (i.e. new starters or those changing jobs) to give a baseline. It can, however, be introduced at any time.

Health checks are annual for the first two years of employment then at 3 yearly intervals (which may need to be more frequent if hearing problems are detected or where risk of hearing damage is high)

D) VIBRATION Health Surveillance should be provided for vibration exposed employees who:

Are likely to be exposed above the action value of 2.5m/s2 (A8) or 100 points;

Are likely to be regularly exposed to whole body vibration above the action value of 0.5m/s2 A(8) or 100 points;

Are likely to be exposed occasionally above the action value and where the risk assessment identifies that the frequency and severity of exposure may pose a risk to health; or

Have a diagnosis of HAVS or long term back pain (even when exposed below the action value)

If any of the above applies to your employee please mark yes in the first ‘vibration’ statement overleaf.

If an employee will be exposed to vibration below the action value they must be assessed by Occupational Health to establish a baseline and identify any existing health conditions that may affect their ability to work with any vibration.

If this applies to your employee please mark yes in the second ‘vibration’ statement overleaf.

E) NIGHT WORK Employees are offered a health assessment before commencing night work. This assessment takes account of any existing medical condition or ongoing medical treatment which may affect whether the individual is suitable for night work.

F) COSHH Breathing in certain dusts, gases, fumes and vapours in the workplace can cause serious, long-term lung damage and disease including asbestosis; silicosis; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); asthma; emphysema; sensitisation and lung cancer. Anyone exposed to sensitisers, dust, and fumes must be referred for a health surveillance assessment.

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Contact with certain substances can cause severe dermatitis; skin irritation; depigmentation; sensitisation; skin cancer or oil acne.

Refer to COSHH assessments to identify where high risk substances have been identified and the Material Safety Data Sheet states that health surveillance is necessary; if these substances cannot be substituted for less hazardous ones then employees must be referred for health surveillance.

G) LGV/PCV DRIVERS AND OPERATORS OF FORKLIFT TRUCKS Managers are required to ensure recording of driving licence number, endorsements and declaration from employee on HR is on-line annually. Declaration includes details of eye sight, medication and driving hours outside of employment at DBC. LGV/PCV DRIVERS AND OPERATORS OF FORKLIFT TRUCKS - Occupational health assessments are carried out on employees required to drive Large Goods Vehicles or Passenger Carrying Vehicles as defined in the Road Traffic Act 1988. Medicals are carried out on employees who operate Fork Lift Trucks as recommended in the code of practice HSG6.

H) CONFINED SPACES Where an individual will be required to work in confined spaces or unusual environmental conditions and is required to use respiratory or other specialised equipment.

I) CONSTRUCTION PLANT Where an individual will be required to operation any construction plant as part of their duties such as Telehandler, Tower Crane, Dumper and Excavator etc.

OTHER Any other risks to the individual not covered on the form but where the individual may benefit from Occupational Health advice and guidance. Example include: an individual with an underlying health problem or ongoing medical treatment who may be required in their work to work at height, or use mechanical equipment;

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health surveillance - darlington borough council · 2020. 2. 13. · health surveillance in...

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