FEATURE
HS2, SAFETY-CRITICAL MEDICALS AND YOU
High Speed 2 (HS2) is not just high cost and controversial in the mind of the general public, it also involves significant risk. James A. Grindlay, Consultant for Healthscreen UK, takes a look into a much-championed method of addressing safety concerns with the project.
WHAT IS A SAFETY CRITICAL MEDICAL? Simply put, ‘safety critical’ means work that is reliant
on the continuing good health of its workers – any compromise in this regard is highly likely to put the safety of both employees and others at critical risk.
Employers do, therefore, have a particular obligation in this regard. That’s why a safety critical medical (SCM) takes an extensive look into every relevant aspect that could negatively impact performance to such a degree that staff are likely to suffer injury – or worse.
A typical assessment may involve (but is not limited to) checks on the following: ability to hear, lung function, skin health, musculoskeletal integrity, height, weight (with Body Mass Index or BMI often used), blood pressure and properties, urinalysis, diet, and visual acuity.
As one might expect, an SCM is designed to be as comprehensive and exhaustive as possible to preclude any potential incident. This is one of the major reasons why they are so popular among contractors – in particular, the hundreds who have been employed to work on the government’s High Speed 2 (HS2) railway project. Although not legislated directly by law, an SCM provides advisory indemnity, an extremely useful tool if complications do arise for both employee and employer alike.
For instance, if a member of staff fails their SCM and an incident occurs, then it can show they might be culpable; similarly, if that same staff member has passed their SCM then it could simply be a genuine
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accident with no culpability. Naturally, every instance will differ depending on circumstance and there is no such thing as a 100% guarantee, but an objective, impartial assessment is your next best bet.
It should be noted, though, that a safety-critical medical is also extremely dependant on the type of industry you find yourself in: yet for those of us who work in heavy industry, manufacturing and contracting – all of which contribute to the much-vaunted HS2 project – it is a vital part of not only regulating you and your personnel but keeping safe and fit to work as well.
WHAT ARE SAFETY-CRITICAL TASKS? The tough, physical nature of industries like those
aforementioned contributors to the expansive railway often results in employees developing health conditions that can seriously affect their ability to perform. A rigorous risk assessment can be an absolute game-changer when it comes to looking after your staff – without it, serious underlying conditions can go unnoticed, leading to far larger problems down the line. Some key examples of safety- critical tasks are:
Operating machinery
One of the most common causes of workplace injury is from managing heavy equipment. In construction, machines or tools counted as the highest overall perceived risk factor at 80%, and with good reason: 11 fatalities occurred from March 2019 to March 2020, with hundreds more non-fatal injuries as well.
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