Health Surveillance is about observing for early signs of work related ill health amongst employees exposed to certain known health hazards. Certain pieces of Health and Safety Legislation require employers to undertake these assessments where it is identified that employees have been exposed to health hazards in the course of their occupational work.

Examples being:

  • Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
  • The Noise at Work Regulations 2005
  • The Control of Vibration at work Regulations 2005.

Purposes of Health Surveillance

  1. Protection of health of the individual employee
  2. Detection at an early stage of any adverse health effects
  3. Assisting in the evaluation of control measures
  4. Data may be used for detection of hazards and assessment of risk
  5. Other purposes: e.g. immune status assessment
  6. Compliance with the law.

Criteria for conducting Health Surveillance

  1. There is an identifiable disease or other identifiable adverse health outcome
  2. The disease or health effect may be related to exposure
  3. There is a likelihood that the disease or health effect may occur
  4. There are valid techniques for detecting indications of the disease or health effects
  5. There are regulations that require this to be done.

Our Health Surveillance Options Include: