Management Referrals
A management referral is an independent medical assessment conducted by a medical professional, such as a registered nurse or doctor who have specialised in occupational health. A manager or HR can use management referrals to gain understanding into an employee’s health condition and how this could impact on their work. The OH professional can advise on any adjustments which could help the employee to return or remain in work. Reasons for referral are diverse and can include long and short-term repeated absences by employees, capability - can they perform their role?, return to work after sick leave, rehabilitation advice, and disciplinary issues related to illness.
Health Surveillance
As an employer, you must make sure workers’ health is not impacted by their work and having a health surveillance programme helps you to achieve this. Health surveillance is a series of ongoing health checks for employees and is used to identify ill health caused by work. Even after you have put control measures in place these may not always be reliable or used in the correct way, so regular health surveillance checks enable you to monitor any changes to an employee’s health and to comply with the health and safety laws. The four key checks include hearing, lung, skin and HAVS.
Safety Critical Medicals
Employers have a duty of care for the health and safety of their employees. Workers preforming safety critical tasks are at particular risk from the impact of their health at work. Regular health checks benefit the employee and employer ensuring the employees are fit for their tasks and not liable to cause harm to themselves or those around them.
Workers requiring safety critical medicals include drivers, MHE operators, those working at height or in confined spaces, roadside (high speed), plant operators and construction workers.
Pre placement Health Screening
Once a candidate has been offered a position, and before starting their new role a pre-employment questionnaire can be used to identify any health conditions the employee may have which require adjustments to their workplace.
Advanced DSE Assessments
Any employee using display screen equipment for continuous periods of an hour or more require a DSE assessment, access to regular breaks and eye tests. Basic DSE assessments can be carried out in house by a trained assessor, however some employees require extra input from occupational health in the form of a DSE assessment combined with a management referral so any health conditions can be considered in their work set up.