Remote HAVS surveillance

An audit of remote health surveillance for hand–arm vibration syndrome

Summary:

In the UK, it is a legal requirement, under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, to provide health surveillance for employees exposed to health risks due to vibration exposure at work. Roger Cooke and Pippa Crouch discuss the pros and cons of carrying out such assessment remotely, and present the findings of a clinical audit.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines health surveillance as ‘a scheme of repeated health checks which are used to identify ill health caused by work’. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, specific regulations require health surveillance for those exposed to potentially injurious noise, vibration, lead, ionising radiation, asbestos and biological and chemical hazards. There are detailed statutory requirements for the health surveillance of those exposed to lead, asbestos, ionising radiation and some biological hazards…

Dr Roger Cooke is a consultant in occupational medicine, with particular experience in vibration-related disease and carpal tunnel syndrome both clinically and as a legal expert witness. He is the author of ‘Hand-arm vibration syndrome: a guide for occupational health practitioners’, published by The At Work Partnership (2021)²¹.

Pippa Crouch is a specialist occupational health nurse adviser and clinical director of Global Occupational health Solutions Ltd.

 

Author: Cooke R, Crouch P

Tags havs - hand arm vibration syndrome

Occupational Health at Work October/November 2023 (vol. 20/3) pp27-32

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