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Company Doctors May Not Be Qualified To Assess

Is your OHS Doc qualified?Many companies now use some form of occupational health services.

In reality the only time a worker may get to see one of the OHS service doctors is as a result of sick leave or when sick leave reaches a level whereby the employer invokes discipline measures.

Additionally situations such as pre-employment health checks, workplace injuries and return to work procedures call for the employee to be assessed by the employer's occupational health service doctor.

But is the doctor really qualified to make an assessment?

A new TUC guide for safety reps gives pointers on what training and skills you should expect from any doctor undertaking pre-employment checks, health screening, change of job, rehabilitation, treatment or medical 'capability' to work assessments.

The guide points out that just being on the medical register means any doctor can offer their services to employers as an expert or adviser. 'Many of those doctors who practice in occupational medicine, dealing with capability assessments, and other medical reports, have had no specialist training and may have only limited knowledge of many of the areas that they should be dealing with such as the health problems of hazards in the workplace, rehabilitation to work or adjustments at work,' the TUC guide says.

It says a doctor can only claim to be a 'specialist' if they are listed on the General Medical Council's 'specialist register', something that can be checked online.

The guide adds that many of the doctors who provide occupational health services are not 'specialists' either.

It spells out the professional qualifications that the GMC says establishes a doctor is 'knowledgeable in occupational medicine theory practice and delivery.' Some GPs have the more basic diploma in occupational medicine, which would mean they are capable of providing some rudimentary health screening and advice.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that, at a minimum, doctors working in occupational medicine should have this diploma. In most instances trade union safety reps will have had more detailed and workplace specific training than any general practitioner, combined with a practical knowledge of hazards and health risks in the workplace that surpasses that of many doctors, regardless of their qualifications.

Go to the TUC guide web pages here

Source: TUC Risks



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