Occupational Health & Wellbeing
The Medwell SA Occupational Health and Wellbeing team consists of trained professionals, providing a risk based, evidence based occupational health service to various industries via a current national footprint, in Gauteng, Free State, KZN, Southern and Western Cape.
Occupational Health services broadly refers to the management of Occupational Health specific needs in terms of:
- Compliance to Legislative requirements as well as national & international standards.
- Enhancing employee health and safety to ensure employees are meeting the inherent requirement of their job specifications.
- Implementation of a medical surveillance programme that meets the clients’ occupational health risk exposure profile per job category, health risk assessment & hygiene monitoring outcomes as well as each clients’ occupational health policy and programme.
- Focusing on general employee wellbeing through workplace-base clinics with management of minor health problems and injuries as well as chronic disease management.
Medical surveillance in the workplace, is regulated by legislation and it is the duty of each employer to comply with such legislation.
The most important applicable acts and regulations are:
- Act no. 75 of 1997 Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCE act)
- Act no. 130 of 1993 Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COID act)
- Act no. 55 of 1998 Employment Equity Act (EE act)
- Act no. 66 of 1995 Labour Relations Act (LR act)
- Act no. 29 of 1996 Mine Health and Safety Act (MHS act)
- Act no. 93 of 1996 National Road Traffic Act (NRT act)
- Act no. 85 of 1993 Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS act)
- Act no 33 of 2005 Nursing Act (NUR act)
- Act no 73 of 1989 Environmental Act (ENV act)
- Regulation No. 155 Asbestos regulations (AR)
- Regulation No. 236 Lead regulations (LR)
- Regulation No. 1179 Hazardous Chemical Substances (HCSR)
- Regulation No 1390 Biological agents regulations (BAR)
- SANS 10083-2013 Regulation on hearing conservation (RHC) – Ed 5.02
- Instruction 171 Medical surveillance and audiometry (AUD)
- Regulations No 489 Construction regulations
Occupational Health is an important, specialised component of primary healthcare services. It encompasses prevention, surveillance, early detection, management, rehabilitation of the workforce of an organisation to prevent illness, absenteeism, and potential disability claims.
Medwell SA offers customised programmes to meet the specific needs of each client and includes:
- Organising of workplace health promotion days
- Developing a medical surveillance matrix & occupational health risk exposure profile that will indicate the frequency and level of medical screening as legally required per industry segment.
- Performance of medical surveillance examinations as determined and monitoring of the effect of physical and biological exposure on employees’ health. It determines whether employees are fit for work and if they are negatively affected by exposures at work.
- Following up on all abnormal cases and ensure compliance to treatment programmes or the implementation of a primary health care service where employees have access to treatment, follow-up visits at a more cost-effective route to ensure less absenteeism and better return to work turn around.
- On-site, workplace clinics are one method to control absenteeism and thus productivity. These clinics provide preventive care and treatment to employees at their place of employment, thus increasing their attendance at work and ensuring optimisation of health status.
- On-site, workplace clinics are one method to control absenteeism and thus productivity. These clinics provide preventive care and treatment to employees at their place of employment, thus increasing their attendance at work and ensuring optimisation of health status.
- Accredited Health & Safety Representative (Sec 17), First Aid & Firefighting training programmes.
- Health & Safety toolbox workshops.
- Vaccination programmes
- Covid-19 Screening and testing
