Protecting Safety Critical Workers in the UK
Healthier Workforce offers a range of expert occupational health services which help businesses create a safe and cohesive work environment for both employers and staff. One of the most important assessments we complete are safety critical medicals, which are tests designed to check that workers who carry out safety critical work are fit to do so. Our network of occupational health professionals are all qualified so you can trust us to carry out reliable safety critical worker medicals for your team.
Safety critical medicals determine whether someone has the medical suitability for the safety critical role they are carrying out. The worker will be checked for issues which are relevant to the type of work they are doing.
Safety critical work can include:
- Working at height: This job has many risks, and those working high up must not have any health conditions which could create a risk of falling.
- Driving: Workers who drive a vehicle regularly – this could be driving a crane, tractor, van, excavator, tipper truck, or many others.
- Confined space: The space just has to be substantially enclosed, not particularly small – with a risk of dangerous substances or conditions. Workers could be affected by dust, a lack of oxygen, explosions, or poisonous gases.
- Night workers: Working at night comes with a variety of risks, and so there is a legal requirement for employers to carry out night worker medicals to ensure they are fit for the work.
- Lone workers: There are certain risks when you are working alone, as there is no one to help you if you experience a health problem. So lone workers are checked for medical conditions such as epilepsy or heart conditions.
- Forklift Operators: All forklift operators must have a forklift medical assessment before and then during employment, as they are required to have a certain level of fitness to operate such heavy machinery.
