MK Occupational Health Ltd - Newsletter Spring 2006

A MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF GROUP OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES

To promote and maintain the health & safety of people at work

Open Day at the new MKOH Premises

Many clients and associates joined us for an Open Day to celebrate our move to new premises.

Visitors at the open day were given a mini lifestyle medical and a tour of the facilities and were then
able to relax and talk to the MKOH staff over a buffet lunch.

The new premises more than doubles the consulting rooms, provides a full training suite and provides
accommodation for the administration staff, previously located separately from the clinic. The Open Day coincided with the launch of the new MKOH website – www.mkoh.co.uk.

Visit us there for full information about our services and your own tour of our premises.

The Control of NOISE at Work Regulations 2005

New regulations relating to the Control of Noise at Work come into force on the 6th April 2006 (with a two year transitional period for the music and entertainment industry). And whilst there is no change in the fact that employers have a responsibility to their workforce, there are changes to the levels and intervention points.

There are obvious industries such as construction, manufacturing and entertainments where these regulations apply, but the changes to the levels of intervention may now have an impact on some less obvious staff such as teachers and call centre operatives. The message from the HSE is clear – if your staff are exposed to noise within the working environment, then this noise and its impact must be managed.

Ideally health surveillance should start at a preemployment stage, or before employees are exposed to noise; this provides a base line and highlights any damage which may be apparent prior to exposure in your working environment. However, it can be introduced at any time for existing members of staff. Regular checks should then be implemented to check for deterioration as a result of exposure. Audiometric testing should be carried out by a qualified practitioner and the whole health surveillance programme should be under the control of an occupational health professional. As an employer, you have the responsibility for making sure that health surveillance is carried out properly. Your occupational health service provider is well placed in providing the surveillance and offering all necessary advice.

As far as the HSE is concerned:

These new action levels are:

  1. Daily personal exposure of 80dB(A) – looking at the noise level in the working area and the length of exposure during a day or week.
  2. Daily personal exposure of 85dB(A) – looking at the noise level in the working area and the length of exposure during a day or week.
  3. Peak action level of 200Pa for exposures to high level noise for short periods of time.

Employers are required to take specific measures to safeguard their employees which include:

You must provide health surveillance (hearing checks) for all your employees who are likely to be exposed to noise, or if they are at risk for any other reason (eg they already suffer from hearing loss or are particularly sensitive to damage). By doing this you will:

HAV concern

The new Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 came into force on 6 July 2005. The regulations deal with the prevention, management and control of diseases caused by vibration at work from equipment, vehicles and machines. Hand Arm Vibration (HAV) is a major cause of occupational ill health and it is estimated that 5 million workers are exposed to HAV in the workplace, two million of these are exposed to HAV where there are clear risks of developing disease. And with approximately 3000 new claims for Industrial Injury Disability Benefit each year being made in relation to vibration white finger and vibration related carpal tunnel syndrome, the HSE and Occupational
Health Practitioners are obviously keen to address this issue with employers.

Occupational health professionals can provide employers with guidance and advice on risk assessments to determine whether employees are likely to require health surveillance at level 1 by competent manager or OHA or at level 2 by suitable qualified Medical Officer or OHA. The HSE web site gives guidance and information on this.

The HSE website and specialist practitioners such as hygienists can help with risk assessments and reducing exposure to vibration.

Health surveillance should determine the bench mark for individual employees and should be repeated on a regular basis to ensure exposure is not being detrimental to the health of employees. Equally any deterioration of health can be identified at an early stage, avoiding serious injury and reducing sickness absence.

Health surveillance can be implemented by introduction of a specific questionnaire by a competent manager or by OHA and need only be referred to competent medical staff as described in the regulations if symptomatic. Your OH provider can help set up a suitable surveillance program if indicated by risk assessment.

Up to 5 million STRESSED at work

HSE defines stress as “the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them”. There is no question that pressure is an integral part of all work and helps to motivate employees. However excessive pressure can lead to stress which undermines performance, is costly to employers and can make people ill.

HSE commissioned research has indicated that:

The problem with ‘stress’ is that each individual has a different stress threshold, which is determined, not only by the working environment, but also influenced by their lifestyle and personal commitments.This has meant that identifying work related stress in isolation from lifestyle stressors has been difficult.

In response to this dilemma the HSE has developed six key areas or risk factors that can be causes of work related stress. This is enabling employers and occupational health practitioners to carry out risk assessments to ascertain an individual’s exposure to stress factors in similar ways to exposure to noise, vibration or other occupational hazards.

Those six key areas are:

In addition Management Standards have also been identified to deal with identified stressors and the impact of
these on employees.

The overall aim of the HSE is to bring about a reduction in the number of employees who go off sick, or who cannot perform well at work because of stress.

The Management Standards approach gives managers the help they need to achieve these aims. It demonstrates good practice through risk assessment, allows measurement of the current situation using surveys and other techniques, and promotes active discussion with employees to help decide upon the practical improvements that can be made.

There are many sources of evidence already in existence within an organisation to include in the business risk assessment, including sickness absence reports and staff turnover ratios. However, specific staff surveys may be appropriate to pin point particular issues. In recent months a series of software packages have been launched which enable employees to answer these surveys confidentially. The software then collates and analyses the results and provides reports on the six key stressors. Occupational health practitioners can access these results and identify individuals who are exposed to particular risks and then work with the individual, the team, the manager or the whole organisation to minimise the risk and the exposure that would occur with any other risk assessment.

An AGEING Workforce

An older worker is commonly defined as being over the age of 50. This accounts for approximately 19 million people in the UK, around 40% of the population. By 2020 this figure is expected to increase to 22 million, however, one in three people (2.8 million) between 50 and state pension age in the UK, do not work.

Older workers have skills and experience that are valuable in the workplace. These skills are often underestimated and, with the decreasing availability of trained younger workers, there will be a major economic impact if older workers continue to be lost to the economy. If employers continue to prefer to lose older workers when downsizing or replace them with younger workers then this demonstration of age discrimination will be both socially and economically damaging in the future.

The UK is committed to implementing the EU Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment (Article 13) by December
2006. This will outlaw age discrimination in the workplace. In the meantime, a non-statutory Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment is being promoted. The impact on companies that fail to comply with age legislation could be significant. In the USA, where similar laws have existed for several years, a fifth of all discrimination claims are based on age.

Age discrimination occurs when assumptions are made about older employees or prospective employees that are based on stereotypes rather than facts.

Although natural ageing does result in physiological change, which can affect work capacity, cognition is not significantly impaired in the ages that span working life. In addition, older workers often have experience or learned strategies that may be valuable in contributing to business success.

In practice, despite an age related decline in physical strength, stamina, memory and information processing, this rarely impairs work performance. Older workers may use knowledge, skills, experience, anticipation, motivation and
other strategies to maintain their performance.

Although older workers may be less adaptable or able to accept change, training and methods of introduction can easily overcome this. Older workers may have longer absences from work due to illness (as common medical problems increase with age), but this may be offset by a tendency to fewer shortterm spells of absence (which are often more disruptive). In addition, older age groups have financial benefits in reduced recruitment costs, and also in terms of better returns from training initiatives.

Occupational health practice promotes the physical, mental and social wellbeing of workers and the reduction of loss of workers due to ill health arising from workplace risks. It also ensures the placement and retention of workers in an
environment adapted to their physiological and psychological needs. This is true regardless of age and therefore adaptation should avoid unsubstantiated prejudice.

As with any age group, appropriate pre-placement assessment of the older worker and effective systems for monitoring and ensuring the access of advice if health concerns arise are important. Effective systems of rehabilitation after illness and appropriate health surveillance should also be in place. Job analysis, vocational skills assessment, job coaching, retraining and job matching are also components of an effective management system.

Good practice will ensure that core anti-discriminatory and health and safety legislation is used so that workers needs are considered and work is matched to capability. Even those with chronic or degenerative disease may have a healthier life expectation with appropriate work placement.

All the members of the Association of Group Occupational Health Services provide a range of Core services directly or indirectly:


The overriding consideration for you as a company is that the provider is competent in its provision and that they work within the specified legal and professional guidelines. By using an Association company this is assured.

All the members of the Association of Group Occupational Health Services can provide the flexibility to tailor their services to meet your needs as an individual business.