01206 865 762
Haven Occupational Health Ltd logo

Established OH firm

Knowledgeable OH practitioners

Ongoing and one-off services
Covid 19

COVID 19 Advice

managing individuals who are at risk can be daunting 
we have added supportive information below to help you navigate this difficult area for employer and employee.



There are many more dangerous infectious diseases in the world than COVID. Measles, TB, Polio - but
the challenge with COVID is how it can cripple health services for everyone and shorten life for so many through the rapid spread. 
The information contained here is based on sound evidence and 40 years experience in health services

Challenge

In order to do a suitable and sufficient risk assessment there are several areas to consider
  1. Your generic site risk assessment, is this robust and does it meet the HSE's advice. 
  2. is your employee at increased risk and therefore requires an individual risk assessment?
  3. what is happening in the greater environment - R numbers, government lock-downs 
  4. do you have the knowledge to do an evidence based risk assessment
The following SOM assessment can be done as an occupational environmental risk assessment - if you feel confident about infection control and how COVID is transmitted then this will be very helpful re returning an employee to work after shielding or furlough.

Risk Assessment based on Society of Occupational Medicine guidelines:

1 Patient/Service user/Public facing 
2 Ability to maintain social distancing at work >2m 
3 Number of different people sharing the workplace her area - 
4 Travel to and from work no risk - 
5 Workplace entry and exit low risk - 
6 Availability and use of PPE available – 
7 Ability to maintain hand hygiene low risk – 
8 Workplace environment cleanliness control - 
9 Ability to avoid symptomatic people - 

The ALAMA Covid Age assessment tool is designed for health professions to use their clinical judgement and is based on 45 million people in the UK

The site is https://alama.org.uk/covid-19-medical-risk-assessment/ but please do not rely on this as evidence of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment without competent occupational health advice

For example:

a 40 year old male employee with type 2 diabetes, obese. 

We would know to ask them about HbA1c levels, what investigations they are having to monitor for side effects and ensure they understand their condition and the risk it may or may not pose re severe illness and Covid  - 19.

They can then make an informed decision about whether they will attend work or not, especially as they may have been advised to shield but wish to work.


Share by: