Services

Pre-employment Assessment

At the most basic level the development and screening of a completed pre-employment medical questionnaire may be sufficient to identify if an employee is fit or unfit for the intended role. With the applicant’s permission, completed questionnaires can be screened by the company itself, but applicants have the right to insist that the questionnaires are screened in confidence by medical staff from Cavell & Lind Ltd.

As a result of a need to clarify information from a questionnaire, or more commonly as part of general company policy, Cavell & Lind Ltd can carry out a variety of pre-employment medicals for your organisation.

The scope of these medicals will be designed in conjunction with you in order to confirm that potential employees are fit for the intended roles. As mentioned previously, the medical requirements of roles such as office worker, machine operator, and fighter pilot are different and it would be inappropriate to carry out identical medicals or apply similar fitness criteria.

Our assessments range from simple tests to measure specific criteria to full in depth examinations. They can also be used to help identify how a job might be adapted or what additional resources would be required in order to enable a candidate to carry out a particular role.

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Health Surveillance and Medicals

We monitor employees’ health by means of regular review and re-testing if appropriate, to establish if control measures and processes are working properly. We will also provide management with the necessary reports.

Dust, chemicals, sprays, noise from machinery, hand held tools, fumes, pesticides, cleansers etc are just some of the hazards that affect almost every working environment to some extent and may require some formal health surveillance under H & S legislation.

Cavell & Lind Ltd will design a cost-effective Health Surveillance programme specifically for your organisations particular requirements, and regular testing can be carried out either at your premises or ours at mutually convenient times.

• Driver Medicals (Forklifts, company vehicles, etc…)
• Food Handlers Medicals
• Display Screen Equipment User (DSE) Eyesight Tests
• Night-shift Worker Medicals
• Blood Tests (i.e. for lead exposure)
• Employee MOTs
• Other General Employee Medicals

Each of the above services can be carried out on your site as part of a normal OH service or can be undertaken as a one-off exercise.

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Skin

Repeated exposure to certain substances or skin irritation can lead to dermatitis. If the signs are detected early enough and corrective action is taken then the problem can be reduced or cured completely. However if left untreated then the dermatitis can become irreversible and exposure to even a small amount of the problem substance can trigger a bad reaction.

Useful Links

• Health Surveillance for Occupational Dermatitis: (HSE Control Guidance Sheet)

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Spirometry

Cavell & Lind Ltd offers an on-site Spirometry service or (as it is typically called) lung-function testing which is fully compliant with the statutory Health Surveillance requirements of the COSHH regulations for substances identified as respiratory sensitisers.

Substances that can cause Occupational Lung Disease or Occupational Asthma normally trigger a Health Surveillance requirement.

Useful Links

• Respiratory Sensitisers and COSHH (Breathe Freely)
• Health Surveillance for Occupational Asthma: (HSE Control Guidance Sheet)

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Noise

(Hearing tests/Audiometry)

The new Noise at Work Regulations (2005) came into force on 6 April 2006 and replaced the previous regulations that had been in force since 1989.

The object of the Regulations is to protect employees from noise. They require employers to:

• Assess the risks from noise.
• Take action to reduce noise exposure (elimination of source or contact with that source).
• Provide hearing protection.
• Make sure legal limits are not exceeded:
  • Lower exposure action value 80 dB
  • Upper exposure action value 85 dB
  • Peak sound pressure of 137 dB
• Provide information to employees.
• Carry out hearing surveillance where there is risk to health.

Useful Links

• HSE Noise at Work Regulations

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Health Promotion

Increasingly companies are realising the benefits of promoting a healthy lifestyle for their employees.

Fit and healthy employees are generally more focused and productive, and sickness absence is generally lower. Therefore it is in the company’s interest to encourage good general health amongst their employees.

We can provide advice and support on a range of topics including Weight Loss, Smoking, Alcohol and drug abuse either as part of our routine occupational health services or as special promotions.

Normal periodic Occupational Health checks can be extended to include general health checks such as weight/BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol levels etc and advice offered to employees.

In addition we can run Employee health promotion days as a way of promoting a healthier lifestyle.

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Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome

A major piece of new legislation (Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive) was introduced in 2005 to address the well recognized complications of exposure to vibration in the workplace. The latest guidelines issued by the HSE outline a 5-tiered approach to health surveillance to HAVS. If you or your employees use vibrational tools (power tools, drills, grinders etc) please contact us and we can guide you through this complex area.

Useful Links

• http://www.hse.gov.uk/vibration/hav/advicetoemployers/index.htm

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Attendance Management

Absences, be it frequent short term or longer periods, can significantly impact your business. There are a number of factors which can affect this and how we tackle each case may differ.

The length of the absence can be reduced by having an Occupational Health provision, the supervisor’s effective monitoring of the sickness, keeping in touch with the employee during their sickness, carrying out return to work interviews and providing a back to work rehabilitation programme. Effective management of your employees’ attendance will reduce the frequency and length of sickness absences, reduce the direct and indirect costs of absences, increase productivity, improve all staff morale and reduce long term disability claims and ill health retirements.

Cavell & Lind Ltd will work with you to put in place best practice procedures and policies to manage attendance by identifying trends, providing training in absence management and analysing statistics. Additionally they can help with the management of individual absences by providing expert and independent advice.

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Immunisations

FLU

An influenza outbreak amongst your staff can have serious consequences, for your organisation with staff affected for up to 2 weeks or possibly longer. Influenza vaccination is a quick, inexpensive, safe, well-tolerated and effective method of preventing or reducing the impact of influenza infection. Optimum time October/November.

HEPATITIS B

Under Health & Safety regulations employers need to provide a safe working environment and appropriate health advice for those at risk of infection with Hepatitis B.

If your employees come into contact with blood and body fluids they may require Hepatitis B immunization in line with Department of Health recommendations.

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