"Do I need Health Surveillance?" That’s a question most employers will be thinking about when it comes to the health and safety or legal aspects of business.
Health surveillance is a series of ongoing health checks and assessments to identify ill health that can be caused by work. In the UK, it’s a legal requirement for employers when employees are exposed to various health risks such as vibration, asbestos, noise, fumes, ionising radiation etc.
Even if you have controls or measures in place to reduce risk of these hazards, the health and safety law requires health surveillance. Therefore, if you’re an employer and your employees are exposed to the hazards mentioned above, health surveillance is something you need.
That’s where we come in…
At UKIM Occupational Health & Wellbeing, we provide thorough health surveillance schemes for businesses across the UK. We tailor our services to cover the legal requirements of your individual business; some of this may include:
- Fitness for work assessments
- Blood pressure
- Musculoskeletal (MSK) problems
- Audiometry (hearing range and sensitivity)
- Lung function
- Drug and alcohol testing
- Hip/weight ratio and/or BMI (Body Mass Index)
- Urinalysis
- Cholesterol
- Exposure to vibration
The benefits of health surveillance for employers:
These health checks enable early identification of ill-health caused by or worsened by work, which then allows for adjustments, interventions or treatments to ensure employees are fit and healthy, remaining at work.
Regular health checks prevent long-term sickness absences because health concerns are addressed early on, preventing conditions from worsening. It also helps those who have been off work, return to work effectively and safely.
In turn, it reduces absence costs as staff will remain at work or return to work sooner. Early detection and health checks also ensure less productivity is lost because of poor health, again strengthening business finances and reducing costs.
Moreover, it ensures that your business is in line with legal requirements and thus ensures there’s a level of protection if it's necessary.
UKIM Occupational Health Physician, Alison Tweedie, discusses health surveillance for businesses…
“Health surveillance should be supported by a health surveillance policy and set up with input from occupational health as well as workers and their representatives. It is important to involve workers to discuss what they think are health hazards. It is a worker’s duty in law to attend health surveillance appointments and it is expected that appointments are during work time and at no cost to the worker.
“Health risks which require health surveillance include noise, vibration and substances hazardous to health. In each instance, a risk assessment is performed to determine if health surveillance is required.
“The law requires that health surveillance includes medical surveillance for hazards such as asbestos, lead and ionising radiation. This involves an appointment with an Occupational Health Doctor who is appropriately trained and appointed by the Health and Safety Executive, called an appointed doctor.
“Health surveillance is useful to provide feedback on control measures in place and enables the employer to take action to prevent harm and protect workers. It also provides workers with the opportunity to raise concerns about their health in relation to work and an opportunity to reinforce training and education.”
