Health Surveillance

What is health surveillance?Health surveillance is about systematically checking for early signs of work-related ill health in employees exposed to certain health risks.It is a legal requirement and it concerns regular monitoring to protect the health of an individual.

If there are any indications of disease or adverse changes related to exposure, steps can be taken to treat the condition and to advise the individual about the future. It may also provide early warning of lapses in control and indicate the need for a reassessment of the risk.

Risk assessment identifies the health hazards in the workplace, who is at risk and measures taken to control the risk. Where risks remain, you will need to take further steps, one of which is to consider health surveillance. Health surveillance is in addition to control measures.

To identify which employees need surveillance, you will need to know:

  1. If work processes or conditions are known to have a potential to cause damage/illness
  2. If there are reliable ways to detect the disease or symptoms
  3. Is surveillance likely to benefit the employee?
Health surveillance provides employers with information, which helps to protect employees from illness caused by being exposed to health risks at work. It enables management of risk by identifying the effectiveness of control measures and further controls required. It also is an excellent opportunity to provide health education and reinforce health and safety messages.

Hand arm Vibration (HAVS)HAVS is a term which describes signs and symptoms of a disorder caused by vibration. The condition has 3 components which can appear together or independently (vascular, neurological, musculo- skeletal). The use of hand held, hand guided or hand fed machines has a potential to cause health problems. HAVS assessments include an assessment of medical and occupational history, physical examination, interpretation of results and provision of the appropriate safety and health advice.

Hearing Conservation and AudiometryThe Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 require employers to prevent or reduce risks to health and safety from exposure to noise at work. Employees have duties under the Regulations too. The Regulations require employers to:

Assess the risks to your employees from noise at work;

Take action to reduce the exposure that produces those risks;

Provide your employees with hearing protection if you cannot reduce the noise exposure enough by using other methods;

Make sure the "noise" legal limits on noise exposure are not exceeded;

Provide your employees with information, instruction and training;

Carry out health surveillance where there is a risk to health.

Lung Care and Spirometry Occupational Asthma can be a risk in certain occupations. It is caused by the individual breathing in a substance at work, which produces a hypersensitive state in the airways and triggers a response.

Work-Life Health offers spirometry (lung function tests). These include an assessment of medical and occupational history, spirometry, interpretation of results and provision of the appropriate health and safety advice.

Skin surveillanceSkin surveillance includes an assessment of medical and occupational history, physical examination of the skin, and provision of appropriate safety and health advice.

FLT and Drivers assessmentsThese include assessment of an employee’s fitness to drive against the criteria identified by HSE advice and DVLA medical standards.

Food handlers health assessmentsThese include an assessment of medical history, physical examination and provision of the appropriate health ,safety and hygiene advice.

Night WorkersEmployers must offer night workers a free health assessment before they start working nights, and on a regular basis while they are working nights. In many cases it will be appropriate to do this once a year, though employers can offer a health assessment more than once a year if they feel it is necessary.