Occupational Health Check-up
Pre-employment Checks
When businesses recruit new employees, they need to assess the physical aspects of the position and employee’s suitability to perform the required duties via a Occupational Health Check-up. A candidate may appear to have all the criteria to match the job but may not have the medical fitness to do so. The consequences of this should not be underestimated as they can hamper operational activities and the productivity of the employee. Companies with higher physical risks, such as mining, transport, and construction efface even greater risk. Doing a job safely and effectively is a priority and a pre-employment medical check can help.
Checking medical fitness before employing staff is a common practice in Australia and can benefit both the employee and the employer. Companies do medical fitness checks to ensure that all staff employed can complete the allocated work in the workplace without endangering or aggravating their physical wellbeing. Some roles require performing activities that are more physically demanding, strenuous, or potentially harmful. These considerations can make the employment process more tedious because it also requires accessing the medical fitness of potential workers.
Medical fitness checks can enable employers to assess the fit for a role.
Different businesses will have their own preferences when considering a medical fitness check due to the demands of the jobs and roles – often specific to their industry. Some industries and employers will have specific legal requirements and demands which need to be fulfilled for their employees with regard to their medical fitness.
Work medical fitness check provides detailed information about the new employee’s physical strength and can also include other cardiovascular tests. A detailed understanding of an employee’s medical fitness enables the employee to deliver their best at work, protect themselves and other employees.
Pre-employment medical fitness checks help the organisation address risks of insurance costs and claims related to incidents at work. There are times organisations need to employ, retain, or rehabilitate an employee who is not perfectly fit – whether new or existing. A medical fitness test can assist the organization to provide good medical conditions to keep the employee working. The organisation may set up the workplace duties to match the medical state of the employee. Pre-employment medical fitness test also enables the organisation to project the likely medical condition of staff after a period of working on a job. Usually, a medical fitness check ranges from fifteen minutes to two hours.
Types of Pre-employment medical & fitness tests
Various types of pre-employment medical tests exist. They include spirometry test, Chest X-ray, Audiometry, ECG test, and Urinalysis. However, a pre-employment check can mean suite of different tests that will be specific to different business, domain role, industry and/or legislative requirements.
A spirometry test is useful for roles that involve some risk of exposure of employees to harmful substances and assesses the lungs of the patient. The physician examines the amount of air the individual inhales and exhales. He additionally checks the time it takes to achieve this. Spirometry may be used to identify people with asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and other lunch related conditions.
Companies may also conduct Chest X-rays for their new employees to detect abnormalities in the chest’s bone, spine, airway, lungs, blood vessels, and heart. It is also used to understand past injuries, like rib or spine fracture, pneumonia, cancer, and other conditions.
Audiometry detects how well the ears work. It tests the ear’s ability to get different sounds with their intensity, pitches, frequencies, and tone. It also identifies damages made to the ear and other related issues.
An ECG test can be done for employees to record and assess certain heart functions and to detect some malfunction or diseases. With this test, it is possible to detect several heart conditions like high blood pressure, heart attack, and more.
Companies can also conduct urinalysis tests for potential employees as part of drug and alcohol screening.
Musculoskeletal assessment is another pre-employment medical fitness check that can determine employee strength, ability to move, or lift loads. Physicians examine the joints and bones. They check for swelling and tenderness of joints and related abnormalities.
Merrylands Occupational Health Check-up is a specialist medical centre that offers all common pre-employment medical check-ups for organisations. With our vibrant medical consulting team, we can review your patients’ medical history and current medical state. Our high quality service and a robust response time can help keep your organisation and people safe at work.
Vaccinations
Vaccinations help to keep your immune system alert to protect you against diseases. Our medical team can offer a range of vaccinations for your employees. Whether you want to protect your workforce from the seasonal flu or provide vaccine protection specific to roles with increases risks and exposure to pathogens, our medical team can discuss the best plan for your business.
Conclusion
Occupational Health Check-Ups enable you to know the fitness of your employee at work. It also helps you provide the best physical environment for your staff to work in. There is a great reduction in workplace risk, accidents, or injuries. It reduces the company’s downtime, the recruitment process, and operational costs. Understanding your staff’s medical fitness helps you match the right employee with others and roles. This increases employees ‘ efficiency and eliminates unnecessary costs for the company. Next time you are considering your employees for pre-employment medical fitness check-ups, visit our medical centre for trusted advice and service.