Frequently asked questions

Why do you use an Occupational Health Technician for health surveillance as opposed to a Nurse?

Our Clinical Director, Emma, answers this and says 'I will confess that while I love doing health surveillance and have an eye for detail, being a nurse through and through means that I will automatically try and address health issues if and as they present during a health surveillance appointment. This doesn't bode well for efficiency nor value for money for the employer other than a happy employee who just had their very own health consultation on top of health surveillance! OH Technicians are skilled, understand the relevance of the data that they collect in relation to the employers own risk management policies and focus on providing a good service'.

What happens if the OH Technician picks up something that needs to be addressed swiftly?

Emma answers this as well and says 'OH Technicians have escalation criteria to help them categorise the level of response required. Every clinic is supported remotely by a qualified OH Nurse. This means that if the OHT identifies that somebody's blood pressure is way too high, or their eye sight fails the standard for driving, this can be escalated in real time and a response provided to help the employer 'make safe'.

I want to offer health surveillance to all my employees. Can I do this?

Health surveillance is usually a legal requirement because your employees are depending on your controls to protect their health. Some health conditions including occupational asthma and hand arm vibration are RIDDOR reportable by law. We will work with you to ensure that only the employees who need health surveillance are on a health surveillance programme. If your employees have health concerns, we are happy to discuss ways in which we may be able to assist.

Do you have any Occupational Health Physicians?

We work with three separate OH Physician providers. This helps us to ensure we find the right fit in terms of expertise and availability.

Are you SEQOHS accredited?

No. We are working to Global OHS standards which are SEQOHS accredited. Our work will be audited regularly to ensure that we are adhering to Global's standards.

Are you going to apply for SEQOHS accreditation?

We want to and we aim to. At present, the pricing structure for SEQOHS accreditation provides for sole providers who once accredited will pay £250 per year and non-sole providers paying a minimum of £2,400 per year. As a micro provider we will be required to pay the same as much larger providers. The Faculty of Occupational Medicine have provided assurances that their pricing will be reviewed to take the increasing number of micro providers' positions into account. We will apply for accreditation as soon as we can. In the meantime, working to Global policies and procedures enables us to provide the best service that we can.

Do you charge VAT?

No. Occupational Health services provided by Derby Health Management are VAT exempt. This includes post offer of employment health assessments, health surveillance, health monitoring, Workplace Assessments and management referrals.