Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Organization of Occupational Health Services
Organization of Occupational Health Services
Preventive measures
o Pre-employment medical screening for evidence of com dx
o Immunization of staff in high risk areas (eg BCG for TB in
wker)
o Periodic monitoring of staff in high risk areas eg periodic x-ray
Primary prevention
Use of protective clothing appropriate for the
hazard (face masks, gloves, apron etc)
Use of disinfectants
Concurrent and terminal disinfection of
ward/suites where infections diseases patients
are treated
General cleanliness
Adoption of appropriate asceptic & antisceptic
techniques
HAZARDS DUE TO EXPOSURE TO FOOD &
WATER BORNE DISEASES
Health workers & patients are at the risk of
pathogens from contaminated food or water as a
result of poor storage, inadequate preparation or
contamination by food handlers. Food
contaminated from source (eg eggs harbouring
salmonellae) can be responsible for a major food
poisoning outbreak affecting both staff & patients
in a hospital or population groups with
institutional catering (eg. Military, boarding schl,
university)
HAZARDS DUE TO EXPOSURE TO FOOD &
WATER BORNE DISEASES
Location
o Canteens & restaurants served from the hospital kitch
o Catering services in canteens, restaurants
o Outside caterer
Management of cases
o Treatment of individual cases of small outbreak will be
handled in the staff Occupational Health Unit
o The hospital Major Disaster Management Plan
(MDMP)will have to be activated in major outbreak
o However it will outlined in Hospital-wide-policy and
Procedure (HPP)
PREVENTI VE MEASURES
Pre-employment medicals to identify those harbouring
pathogens viz viruses, bacteria, etc
Periodical medical monitoring of stools or better, rectal
swabs of catering employees at interval of three years
Treatment of those habouring pathogen
Return-from-leave medicals
Periodical sampling of food and water for contamination
Regular inspection of food preparation and storage
facilities by environmental health officers
PREVENTI VE MEASURES
Ensuring the separation of cooked and raw
food in storage places
Ensuring the use of wholesome water for food
preparation and drinking (pathogen-free
chlorinated water)
General hygiene of the kitchen(good house
keeping)
Personal hygiene of catering staff
Use of appropriate protective clothing
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
These have students and pupils of a wide range
of ages whose occupation is studying
There are three categories viz
Primary school pupils
Secondary school pupils
Students in tertiary institutions
Services provided is the same but for differences
due to emphasis a particular school age
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES
Occupational health for Primary School Pupils is
provided through the school health services
The staff (doctors & nurses) need to be trained in
primary health care.
Services Includes
Screening at school entry
Regular inspection of pupils for personal
hygiene
Immunization
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES
Treatment of common diseases and ailments and
prompt referral to secondary level of care
Food and water hygiene
Nutrition
Environmental sanitation
STRUCTURE
The unit of a school health service should be at LGA
All the schools shld belong to one school health
services in the form of Area type GOHS
STAFFI NG
Doctors with training PHC & Comm/Occ Med
Community Health Officer (CHO) & CHEW
Nurses
Environmental sanitations and technicians
Pharmacy technicians
Drivers and train conductors
The number of each category of staff will be
determined by the population of pupils, number of
schools, & distance b/w the farest school
OPERATIONAL PLAN
By adopting the Area type GOHS, staff at the
headquarters visits the schools from the base at
predetermined intervals. Drugs & equipment
provided, and authority provide funds for recurrent
and capital expenditure & payment of staff.
Transportation of personnel will be mandatory &
includes cars, combi-buses, pick-up vans,
motorcycles & boats in reverine areas
A small clinic modestly stocked & equipped, should be
provided with few beds for observations
SERVICE TO BE RENDED
Pre-school entry screening
Regular inspection of pupils
Immunization
Treatment of common diseases and ailments
Food and water hygiene
Nutrition
Environment Sanitation
SCHOO HEALTH SERVICE FOR POST-
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Arrangement with clinic or hospital in the
neighbourhood which could be govt or
personal. Where there is industrial clinic the
owner could be approached
Incorporating this in the school health services
for primary school within an LGA
Area-type GOHS for urban areas with a large
concentration of post-primary schools
THE CONTENT OF POST-PRIMARY SCHOOL
HEALTH SERVICE
Establishment of medical record system for
each student
First Aid service
Treatment
Food and water hygiene
Environmental sanitation
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE IN
TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
Immunization
Treatment of common diseases and ailments
Maternal and child health including family
Food and nutrition
Water and sanitation
Control of common endemic diseases
Health education
Essential drugs
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES IN THE
PETROLEUM (OIL & GAS) INDUSTRY
The prospecting for petroleum and the arrival of the end
products in the following:
Natural Gas (methane, propane, butane)
Light petroleum:
o Petrol (gasoline, motor fuel)
o Petroleum benzine
o Petroleum naphtha (solvent naphtha)
o Paraffin (kerosene, lampoil)
Higher Paraffins:
o Fuel (diesel oil)
o Lubricating oils
o Liquid paraffin (petroleum jelly, vaseline)
o Paraffin waxes
Crude petroleum contains a high proportion of
alphatic and aromatic compound (i.e open and
closed chain hydrocarbon)
From prospecting to the final production of finished
products, workers are exposed to many and varied
health hazards.
The process involved have been divided from
operational view point into
Upstream Sector
Downstream Sector
SECTORS
Upstream Activities: these include geological,
seismic, exploration/exploitation for oil through
drilling and transportation by pipelines from
drilling rigs to storage at the oil wells, they may be
on shore, offshore or both.
Downstream activities: These are all the
operations from the oil wells to the users
(consumers) of oil and gas. It includes refining,
marketing and the distribution of petroleum
products
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PRACTICE
It is important to be familiar with the known
hazards that exist in the particular locale of
operation. These hazards in either upstream
or downstream activities can be classified into:
Biological/physical
Chemical
Psychosocial
UPSTREAM HAZARDS
Biological/physical
Wide life (snakes, scorpions, insects, alligators)
Human errors in the process such as laying of
geophones, mishandling of dynamites, etc
Rig accidents e.g falls from rigs heights,
drowning, fall from slippery deck floors, sudden
break of snub lines leading to accidental drop of
heavy tools.
Well blow-out
UPSTREAM HAZARDS
Fire outbreaks (Crude oil is inflammable)
Malfunctioning of support services such as
transportation supplies, catering, etc
Exposure to disease-causing agents (bacteria,
virus and arthropods). Vectors for malaria and
yellow fever could pose a problem for field
workers in tropical forest areas
UPSTREAM HAZARDS
Chemical (due to chemical composition)
Hazards arise from human errors in their handling
from operation to the distribution to consumers
Chemicals of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons
should be borne in mind (methane & benzene
among others and theirs health effects)
Benzene’s effects on the heamopoetic system(it
produces an insidious marrow poisoning)
UPSTREAM HAZARDS
Psychosocial
Issues relating to salaries (irregularity in the
payment of bonuses)
Interpersonal relations among the labour force,
causal workers could be adversely affected
Lack of or inadequate provision of services
such as health care could be a source for
maladjustment at work
DOWNSTREAM HAZARDS
Physical Hazards
Fire outbreak: This could be due to sabotage where
people out of malice temper with oil installations. Civil
strife and war situations are other examples
Transportation Accidents: These could occur during the
transportation of crude oil from well to the refineries and
from there to the refined end product user. These
includes accidents falls, strains and sprains
Chemical and psychological hazards are same as in upstream
activities
HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION AND
MANAGEMENT
This rest with the management
The role of the OH service is supportive from the point of
view of prevention
The OH doctor should be familiar with all the known
health risks encountered in the industry he is employed
This knowledge will enable him introduce the appropriate
preventive and curative services for the health of the
workforce
Legge’s Aphorisms Numbers 1, 2, & 4 underscore the very
important responsibility of management in safeguarding
the health of the workers
HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION AND
MANAGEMENT (cont)
The use of personal protective clothing should be seen as one
to embark upon as a last result, not the first line of defence
The safety department should ensure that safe working
techniques are used
First-line mgt should ensure safe work ethics through education
and training of labour
Leadership by example must be emphasized
Appropriate first aid should be instituted in hazard-prone
operation
Treatment at the OH unit and prompt referral to hospitals for
more advanced care should be in place
HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION AND
MANAGEMENT (cont)
An ambulance in good condition should be ready on a
24-hour basis for prompt evacuation of the injured.
Accidents at oil rigs off shore should have helicopter
ambulances for prompt evacuation of the injured
The fire fighting team should be well equipped and
ready for action at short notice.
There is need for employment of doctors, nurses,
hygienists, safety officers, engineers (ergonomists)
with special training in health & safety in the oil and
gas industry
FIRE HAZARD
Fire outbreak is the major hazard in the oil and gas
industry especially in the downstream sector
This can occur in the industry anywhere from oil rigs
to the point of distribution to the consumer
The OHS should play a leading role in the
management of the victims from prompt first aid to
the continuation of medicare in more advanced
hospitals with facilities for burn care
It is the responsibility of mgt of oil companies to have
action plan for dealing with fire outbreak
FIRE HAZARD(cont)
Two aspects of dealing with fire should be
addressed viz
These are the safety measures to be put in
place to prevent or reduce fire occurrance in
the facilities
The second are actions to take in reducing
personal and property damage following fire
outbreak
FIRE HAZARD(cont)
The preventive measures could start with safety
in the design and installation of machinery
Education and training of staff about fire
hazards and what to do when one occurs
The plant doctor is involved in the management
of fire victim
Minor
Major
FIRE OUTBREAK POLICY AND PROCEEDURE