Welcome

Dear Clients and Friends,

Welcome back to the WORKCARE Newsletter. This month we bring you and insight into Hazardous Substance Testing / Spray Painter Medicals and Back Assessments.


The following information has been sourced from the WorkCover NSW website and compiled for you by WORKCARE Medical Pty Ltd. For further information please refer to www.workcover.nsw.gov.au

HEALTH SURVEILLANCE 2004

Hazardous Substance Health Surveillance / Back Assessments  Information Pack

Hazardous Substances

The following has been designed to answer common queries regarding Hazardous Substance Handling and Health Assessment and Reporting.

The WorkCover Authority of NSW has established what is known as ‘The Code of Practice for the Control of Workplace Hazardous Substances’ (12 July 1996). This code bestows the employer, self employed, suppliers and employees with the knowledge to provide a safe regulated workplace. In addition it serves to inform all involved in the handling of Hazardous Substances of the potential health affects and outline both the proactive and reactive measures in response to this.

The following is a set of questions and answers to assist your current knowledge in the area.

What is Health Surveillance?

Health Surveillance is an assessment of an individuals risk to health from contact with Hazardous Substances. It involves a review of the individual’s current workplace environment, duties, hazards and previous work related injuries and/or disease. An assessment is undertaken on the individual’s health through a range of means including when clinically indicated, lung function testing, urinalysis, blood testing and chest X-Ray.

Health Surveillance examination may take the form of:

• Biological Monitoring
• Medical Examinations
• A review of histories
• A review of past medical records and exposures

Who is required to undergo Health Surveillance?

Heath Surveillance (Hazardous Substances Medicals) are required by regulation to be attended by employees who have been identified in the workplace as having:  

• A health issue that may be related to the exposure
• There is reason to believe that the health issue identified may have occurred or be exacerbated by the conditions in the workplace
• All employees should participate in the health surveillance program unless there is a valid reason to the contrary, in which case the matter should be referred to the medical practitioner conducting the program.

Who is responsible for ensuring Health Surveillance takes place?

As stipulated in WorkCover’s Occupational Health and Safety (Hazardous Substances) Regulation 1995, the employer is responsible for ensuring a health surveillance program is in place for their employees. It is also the responsibility of the employer to ensure that a suitably qualified medical practitioner is selected to conduct the program.

 In addition the employer has a responsibility to:

• Pay any expenses that are a direct result of the heath surveillance program e.g. Medical fees, pathology tests, travelling expenses and time off work.
• Ensure that the results of the heath surveillance are kept as confidential records for the purposes of the regulation.
• Ensure the employee is made fully aware of the purpose and their obligation to testing, and ensure suitable arrangements are made for employees to be able to participate in the program.
• Provide the medical practitioner whom has been appointed with a list of the Hazardous Substances the employees have been exposed to that require testing and a copy of MSDS and exposure standards information for those hazardous substances.
• Keep the health surveillance results for a period of time no shorter than 30 years from the date of the last entry made in the records.

Now that I am aware that my employees are required to participate in a Health Surveillance program, where do I go from here?

WORKCARE Medical offers a comprehensive Hazardous Substances service to ensure the protection and safety of our clients. Upon leaving our centre, the employee is issued with a WorkCover certificate indicating the time upon which they are required to return for their next assessment, the necessary paperwork is forwarded to WorkCover for their record, and a report is issued to the client indicating the results of the tests administered and indicated reassessment time.

A Heath Surveillance program can be conducted through our Bankstown, Ashfield or Wetherill Park Medical Facilities. All of which have WorkCover accredited Occupational Medicine practitioners.

Back Assessments

A lower back analysis, which shows range of motion (measured in degrees of movement) in the lower back, and can indicate whether there is any impairment of function in the lower back. The greater the range of motion, the greater the likelihood they are a member of the healthy lower back population. The risk of lower back injury with repetitive heavy manual handling is smaller with this population, provided of course that correct techniques are observed.

The back analysis is a baseline test that provides a useful benchmark for future reference in the event of a back injury. It can be used to assess impairment of function, indicate pre-injury range of motion and to help set realistic goals for rehabilitation.

The following is outlines responses to common questions regarding Back Assessment Testing:

Who should undergo Back Assessment?

A back analysis is a beneficial device used to measure the range of movement in the lower back of any individual. However it is highly recommended that those whom take part in jobs that involve medium to heavy manual handling undergo the assessment as a prediction of their risk to a lower back injury. The National Standard for Manual handling defines manual handling as:

Definition of Manual Handling

‘Any activity requiring the use of force exerted by a person

to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold or

restrain any animate or inanimate object’.

What does WORKCARE Medical use to perform the Back Assessment?

Digital Inclinometers are used at WORKCARE Medical to perform our lower back Assessments. A Digital Inclinometer is an instrument used to determine the individual’s range of motion as referenced from the body’s natural position.  The digital inclinometer has been designed with a built in microprocessor which automatically calculates and displays the actual range of motion of the joints.

How will Back Assessments benefit my company?

According to statistics provided by WorkCover NSW, there were just over 12,000 workplace back injuries and 13,831 manual handling injuries over the period of 2000 and 2001. This accounted for 30.1% of ALL workplace injuries and cost a massive $302 million, involving 111.313 weeks in time lost.

The prediction of risk for a lower back injury through means of a Back Assessment will arm the employer with the necessary information to ensure that they are not placing the employee at risk and in turn themselves.

Back Assessments are performed at WORKCARE Medical at our Bankstown, Ashfield and Wetherill Park Clinics by trained clinicians and exercise physiologists.

Disclaimer: The information regarding Hazardous Substance and Back Assessments within these pages should be used merely as a guide. For more information please contact WORKCARE – (02) 9707 7800

How to Access this Service

Appointments at WORKCARE should be made directly with the Clinic’s receptionist. Please choose a WORKCARE Medical Clinic that is nearest to you.

For specific or tailored options please contact Simon James (Clinician Manager) on Phone: (02) 9707-7800 – Fax: (02) 9796-3580 or email simons@workcaremedical.com.au

Bankstown Clinic – 14 Eldridge Road Bankstown, NSW 2200 - Phone: (02) 9707-7800 - Fax: (02) 9796-3580

Ashfield Clinic –  C/- Sydney Private Hospital (Entrance via Robert Road) 63 Victoria Street Ashfield, NSW 2131 - Phone: (02) 9799-4744 – Fax: (02) 9799-2050

Wetherill Park Clinic – 5 Price Street Wetherill Park, NSW 2164 – Phone: (02) 8788-9100 – Fax: (02) 8788- 9155

For further information on Hazardous Substance and Health Surveillance and all other related issues please refer to the WorkCover website at:www.workcover.nsw.gov.au

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