OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PRACTICE INMINING INDUSTRIES

MODULE-3BOHS-Basic Occupational Health Services

OPEN-CAST MINE UNDERGROUND MINE

“BOHS”-A WHO/ILO/ICOH/FIOH JOINT EFFORT-

The WHO/ILO/ICOH/FIOH have launched the joint effort on the development of Basic Occupational Health Service (BOHS) policy and guideline in order to improve coverage and quality of occupational health services (OHS) in the world.

The principle of BOHS is to ensure the provision of OHS for all workers by developing new service provision models, which are adaptable to local conditions, low cost, widely covered the workforce, and still meet the quality requirements of OHS.

Occupational Health As

Primary Health Care (PHC)The renewal of primary health care (PHC), which

has been recently put forward by WHO, convincingly demonstrates the importance of the provision of occupational health through PHC in addition to multidisciplinary health services in order to reach underserved working populations.

What is occupational health ?Occupational health encompasses the social, mental and physical well-being of workers, that is the“ Whole Person”

(ILO/WHO)

The ILO Convention 161The ILO Convention No.161 defines occupational

health services as services entrusted with essentially preventive functions and responsible for advising the employer, the workers and their representatives in the undertaking on the requirements for establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment which will facilitate optimal physical and mental health in relation to work and the adaptation of work to the capabilities of workers in the light of their state of physical and mental health.

Broadest context of Occupational Health

In its broadest context, occupational health practice should be understood as the activities of all those who contribute to the protection and promotion of workers’ health and to the improvement of the working conditions and the work environment.

These activities should not be seen as limited only to the practice of occupational health professionals.

Why is occupational health important?Workers spend at least

eight hours a day in the workplace.

Work plays a central role in people's quality of lives.

As a result of the hazards and a lack of attention given to health and safety, work-related accidents and diseases are common in all parts of the world.

Basic Aim of Occupational HealthOverall, efforts in

occupational health and safety must aim to prevent industrial accidents and diseases, and at the same time recognize the connection between worker health and safety, the workplace, and the environment outside the workplace.

Poor working conditions affect worker health and safetyPoor working conditions

of any type have the potential to affect a worker's health and safety. Occupational hazards can have harmful effects on workers, their families, and other people in the community, as well as on the physical environment around the workplace

Why it’s difficult to Identify the cause of Occupational disease ?

The long latency period It may be too late to do anything about it

or treat / cure them even Difficulty to trace back what hazards the

worker was exposed to in the past. Changing jobs Personal behaviours(such as smoking

tobacco or drinking alcohol) New chemicals and new technologies are

being introduced which present new and often unknown hazards to both workers and the community.

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Eliminate/Control/ Contain Hazards at Workplaces are only the best options, to prevent Occupational Diseases.

Costs of occupational injury/diseaseWork-related accidents or

diseases are very costly and can have many serious effects on workers, their families and Employers.

Unfortunately some employers assume little responsibility for the protection of workers' health and safety.

In fact, some employers do not even know that they have the moral and often legal responsibility to protect workers.

Direct costs of an injury or illness for Workers 1. Pain and

suffering of the injury or illness;

2. Loss of income; 3. Possible loss of

a job; 4. Health-care

costs.

Indirect costs of an accident or illness 1. Injured/ill worker has to be

replaced; 2. A new worker has to be trained

and given time to adjust; 3. It takes time before the new

worker is producing at the rate of the original worker;

4. Time must be devoted to obligatory investigations, to the writing of reports and filling out of forms;

5. Accidents often arouse the concern of fellow workers and influence labourrelations in a negative way;

6. Poor health and safety conditions in the workplace can also result in poor public relations.

The costs to employers: 1. Payment for work not

performed; 2. Medical and

compensation payments; 3. Repair or replacement of

damaged machinery and equipment;

4. Reduction or a temporary halt in production;

5. Increased training expenses and administration costs;

6. Possible reduction in the quality of work;

7. Negative effect on morale in other workers.

The investment on prevention PaysThe investment in prevention is meaningful from

the economic point of view. Prevention reduces costs due to occupational injuries and diseases.

It is estimated that the social cost of occupational diseases is two-threefold higher than the investment that would have been necessary to prevent them.

It is crucial that employers, workers and unions are committed to health and safety

1. Workplace hazards are controlled -at the source whenever possible;

2. Records of any exposure are maintained for many years;

3. Both workers and employers are informed about health and safety risks in the workplace;

4. There is an active and effective health and safety committee that includes both workers and management;

5. Worker health and safety efforts are ongoing.

A successful Occupational health and safety programme requires:

1. Strong management commitment.

2. Trade Union coordination.

3. Worker participation.

4. Enforcement strength.

More Important Role to be played by:

1. General Physicians2. Specialist doctors3. Nurses4. Para-medics5. Social scientists6. Healthcare

Administrators7. Teaching Institutions

------------------------They need to understand the

dynamics of Hazards-Health issues, which are specific to Industries, unlike in general practice.

BOHS eventually Aims atBOHS programs should aim to strengthen the

entire national OSH system and to foster a preventative approach and safety culture that are critical to achieving sustainability of improvements in safety and health at work.

It is the way forward towards a progressive development of occupational health services in all parts of the world with an utmost goal to cover all workers in all occupations.

Prevention is the key AIM of Occupational Health

Overall, efforts in occupational health and safety must aim to prevent industrial accidents and diseases, and at the same time recognize the connection between worker health and safety, the workplace, and the environment outside the workplace.

Hopefully this Module would have helped to appreciate the Fundamentals of Occupational Health and the Basic Occupational Health Services (BOHS) being

promoted by IAOH, in the context of making a start at Primary Health Care Levels.

THANK YOUG.JAYARAJ

Member-IAOHEmail: jayaraj_dr@yahoo.com