OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SUPPORT PILOT SCHEME GETS GO AHEAD

HSC press release: C008:03 - 28 March 2003

Construction industry representatives have decided to proceed with plans to establish a consortium to run an Occupational Health Support Pilot Scheme.

To co-ordinate the establishment of the consortium and to carry the project forward, the Health and Safety Commission (HSC)'s Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) yesterday agreed to set up an independent Action Forum.

The Action Forum's first task will be to raise funds of between £1 - £1.3 million for the pilot scheme, determine the most suitable provider for the pilot and establish the project consortium. Money will be sought from industry and by applying for various sources of government funding. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will adopt a facilitation role.

Kevin Myers, CONIAC Chair and HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, said: "The aim of the Occupational Health Support Pilot Scheme is to provide a framework of support for construction employers to employ best practice occupational health management activities to improve the control and management of occupational health risks and so improve, preserve and protect the health of their employees."

The scheme is likely to include providing free advice on occupational health issues, on-site risk assessments and advice on what specialist services are available to better manage workers' exposure to key health risks. Once the project consortium and funding is established, the Occupational Health Support Pilot Scheme will be run in a specific geographical area.

The underlying objective of the pilot is to test the feasibility of such a system with a view, if successful, to developing it on a national basis, with the aim of reducing the estimated cost of work-related ill health to the industry of £760 million per year.

CONIAC member Chris McEwen said: "As an employer and a businessman, I can see enormous benefits of an Occupational Health Scheme within the construction industry. However developed and mechanical the industry becomes, ultimately it is people who make things happen on site, and we are already suffering a shortage of skilled operatives. We need to encourage others into the industry. Over the last six years pay has improved significantly, but working conditions have almost stood still. It is time for employers to make a stand and promote the one thing that I believe will radically change these conditions, a construction specific national Occupational Health Scheme."

Andy Sneddon, Health & Safety Director of Construction Confederation said: "The proposals for an Occupational Health Support Pilot Scheme represent a real opportunity to make a step change towards effective management of health issues. Lack of effective understanding of the ill-health effects of construction, and uncertainty regarding the cost and competence of health professionals, are both major obstacles. The pilot will test the strategies for overcoming these, and help to move the industry nearer achieving its objectives for occupational ill health under the Revitalising health and safety targets."

George Brumwell, UCATT General Secretary welcomed the pilot saying, "I am delighted that the occupational health pilot has been agreed. UCATT has campaigned for many years to establish a credible occupational health scheme for the construction industry. The cases of industrial ill health in our industry show why it is important that this pilot is successful and a permanent scheme is established."

The concept of the Occupational Health Scheme developed out of the Tackling Health Risks in Construction Conference in 2000, where representatives from all areas of the construction industry indicated their willingness to co-operate in establishing a comprehensive, national occupational health scheme. Since then, HSE has established that such a scheme is feasible and has been working to design a pilot scheme to test the viability of a practical model for a national scheme.

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