Occupational Health Policy

1. Statement of Policy

Occupational Health is a shared responsibility. Under Law, Dyfed-Powys Police (DPP) is responsible for the health and safety of its officers and staff, who in turn have responsibility to look after their own health and safety. Dyfed-Powys Police and its employees are responsible for taking care of the health and safety of others.

Applies (but not limited) to: This policy applies to all Occupational Health staff employed by Dyfed-Powys Police including agency Occupational Health staff, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, fixed term, temporary (including agency staff, associates and contractors) or seconded staff.   Any employee accessing and using Force assets and property must have due regard to the contents of this policy.

2. Policy Scope

Occupational health embraces:

• the effect of work on health, whether through sudden injury or through long-term exposure to agents with latent effects on health, and the prevention of occupational disease through techniques which include health surveillance, ergonomics and effective management systems.
• the effect of health on work, bearing in mind that good occupational health practice should address the fitness of the task for the officer/staff/volunteer, not the fitness of the officer/staff/volunteer for the task alone.
• rehabilitation and recovery programmes.
• helping the disabled to secure and retain work.
• managing work-related aspects of illness with potentially multi-factorial causes (e.g., Mental Wellbeing, musculo-skeletal disorders, coronary heart disease) and helping employees to make informed choices regarding lifestyle issues.

3.  Powers and Policy/Legal Requirements

This list is not exhaustive.  It includes but is not limited to the following.

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• Health Surveillance for those exposed to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) – Supplementary guidance for occupational health professionals (amended January 2016). Health and Safety Executive.
• The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
• The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005
• The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR)
• The Equality Act 2010
• The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
• The Medical Records Act 1988
• The Police Regulations 2003
• The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
• National Medical Recruitment Standards (2004) for Entry to Police Services and Fitness for Winsor Report 2012
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) 2022

4.  Options and Contingencies

The following Code of Ethics principles are also aligned with the NMC code and apply to this Occupational Health policy..

Policing principles

• Accountability
• Fairness
• Honesty
• Integrity
• Leadership
• Objectivity
• Openness
• Respect
• Selflessness

NMC codes

• Prioritise people
• Practice effectively
• Preserve safety
• Promote professionalism and trust

5.  Take Action and Review

The policy will be initially reviewed annually then 2 yearly. Any new amendments will be added and recorded appropriately.

The following procedures apply inside this policy for Dyfed-Powys Police Occupational Health Department

• New recruit /baseline medicals (inc DEO Detention Escort Officer, Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers)
• Spirometry
• Audiology (inc all new recruits, dog handlers, firearms, call centre handlers and supervisors)
• Skin surveillance
• Vision testing (inc firearms, new recruits, drivers and taser users)
• Hand Arm Vibration (HAVS)
• Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) medicals
• DVI medicals (Disaster Victim Identification)
• Firearms medicals (inc SOCT Scenes of crime team, WECTU and Tarian)
• Working at Heights
• Confined spaces
• Drivers’ medicals
• Vaccinations
• Venepuncture
• Confidentiality (inc privacy notice)
• Record keeping (inc records management system)
• Data protection
• Health & Safety (lone working, fire safety, DSE, biological exposure, manual handling, disabled facilities, RIDDOR reporting)
• Auditing
• Clinical Waste
• Clinical Supervision
• Psychological assessments
• Vehicle maintenance technicians
• OPCC (Office of Police Commissioner)- grounds and maintenance
• Management referrals and triage (inc SMP – Specialist medical practitioner and FMA- Force medical advisor)
• Infection control (inc Covid & flu)
• Medical supplies ordering and stock taking
• Complaints

Monthly auditing of all clinician notes will include random selection of 2 reports and 2 sets of clinical notes from each clinician including screening nurse, Occupational Health Advisors, Musculoskeletal Advisor, Counsellor and Force Medical Advisors. This will be done using an audit tool and the results fed back to each individual and their line manager. All results, feedback and reviews will be kept on an audit tracker. 

CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it.

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation.

The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act;
• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it;
• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies.

Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty. 

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT COMPLETED: October 2023