Health surveillance is a system of on-going health checks. These health checks may be required by law for employees who are exposed to noise or vibration, ionising radiation, solvents, fumes, dusts, biological agents and other substances hazardous to health, or work in compressed air.
Health surveillance is important for:
– detecting ill-health effects at an early stage, so employers can introduce better controls to prevent them getting worse
– providing data to help employers evaluate health risks
– enabling employees to raise concerns about how work affects their health
– highlighting lapses in workplace control measures, therefore providing invaluable feedback to the risk assessment
– providing an opportunity to reinforce training and education of employees (e.g. on the impact of health effects and the use of protective equipment)
A risk assessment should be used to identify any need for health surveillance. Health surveillance can sometimes be used to help identify where more needs to be done to control risks and where early signs of work-related ill health are detected, employers should take action to prevent further harm and protect employees.
When putting in place a health surveillance programme, blanket coverage for all employees should be avoided as it can provide misleading results and waste money.
Do I need health surveillance?
If there is still a risk to health after the implementation of all reasonable precautions, you may need to put a health surveillance programme in place. A responsible person can be trained to make routine basic checks, such as skin inspections or signs of rashes and could, e.g., be a supervisor, employee representative or first aider. For more complicated assessments, an occupational health nurse or an occupational health doctor can ask about symptoms or carry out periodic examinations.
There are also a number of high-hazard substances or agents where the law requires that the health surveillance programme includes statutory medical surveillance. Statutory medical surveillance involves a medical examination and possibly tests by a doctor with appropriate training and experience. The doctor must have been appointed by HSE.
Medical surveillance is a legal requirement for the following workplace exposures: particular types of work with asbestos, work with lead, work with ionising radiation, work in compressed air, work with those substances hazardous to health that are subject to Schedule 6 of The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
