Strategic plan for occupational health department

In XYZ pharmaceutical company

Prepared by: DR/ Amr El-ghazaly
Supervised by: DR/ Tarek El-nagdy

Vision
At XYZ Pharma, we work every day to grow as a leading Egyptian Pharmaceutical
Company that makes a difference in patients’ life.

Mission
We aspire to become a leading Egyptian player in innovation, offering people, patients and
their beloved ones new medicines and solutions to achieve better health outcomes and
higher quality of life.

Values
ETHICS AND RESPONSIBILITY: we take care of our employees, of patients and consumers.
PERFORMANCE: each of us is responsible for achieving their goals and those of our Team.
INNOVATION: we encourage the development and testing of new effective and concrete
solutions.
ENGAGEMENT: we are positive, motivated and open to new ideas, styles and perspectives.

THE MAIN GOAL of an occupational health program

Is a healthy work force, including everyone from the chief executive officer to the newest unskilled
worker. It should lead to health maintenance and improvement, less absenteeism, increased
productivity, and the achievement of worker and corporate goals.
All the basic elements of prevention, acute care, counselling and rehabilitation must be included.
The scope of each program will depend on the size of the business or industry, on its geographic
location, on the potential hazards in the operation, and on the philosophy of management and
labor.
The program must be defined in written policy. This is true whether the plan is for a small, single
establishment involving only a few workers or a large multi-plant corporate program. The policy
should include the program's basic objective, the duties, authority and reporting relationships
within the organization. It should clearly indicate that management understands and fully supports
the program, because without the complete understanding and the philosophical and financial
support of management, the best conceived program has little chance of success.
Occupational health and safety programs involve several disciplines, including occupational
medicine, occupational nursing, industrial hygiene, safety and accident prevention, psychology,
sociology, and health physics.
These health professionals must work closely not only with each other, but also with other
members of management. This is especially true when working with personnel and labor relations
groups.
Two other areas should be considered: the effect of effluent from the company on the surrounding
environment or community and the effect of the items or materials produced on the health of users
or consumers.
 Administering the Program
Management plays a major role in health and safety programs at the corporate or plant level.
Management must agree that the program is preventive and not simply a tool to reduce
compensation costs or mechanically improve the safety record.
Authority and responsibility must be given to the chief health and safety professional in the
organization.

Occupational Health Examinations

1. Pre-placement health evaluations :
An automated or check-off type of history will often give the physician enough information to
categorize the patient's health status without further examinations.
Traditionally, physical examination, chest X-ray, urinalysis, and minor blood tests have been done
to 'weed out' hernias, bad backs, or other physical disabilities.
The results of pre-employment screening should be used to describe applicants' health and
determine their physical ability to perform a job. Initial examination is used for job placement and
as a baseline for further periodic health examinations based on work exposure.

2. Selective job placement:

Considering a job's physical requirements in relation to workers' physical limitations will frequently
prevent accidents and ill health, and increase productivity. Applicants' physical capabilities must
be matched to the work they are expected to perform.
This may allow willing workers with some physical defects to work.

3. Periodic health evaluation:

Management must agree with the purpose of the periodic examination, which should be clearly
defined in a well-developed program. It is to evaluate the employee's health, with emphasis on
'target organs' which may be affected by actual or potential environmental exposure.
This examination relies heavily on a check-off questionnaire, and selected tests such as
audiometry for noise, spirometry for air-borne particles, and blood tests for specific metals and/or
chemicals.
If all test results are normal, the physician may eliminate the personal examination and review only
the record.
Such a procedure lends itself to multiphasic screening.

Environmental Hazards
Hazards in the work environment must be recognized, evaluated, and controlled.
There must be a high index of suspicion for environmental hazards such as air-borne particles and
vapors, and physical agents such as radiation.
The health program must assess the ability of raw materials and industrial processes to do harm.
The intermediate steps and their exposures must also be considered.
Finally, the finished product should be reviewed to determine the possible effects on the worker.
Each step in production must be considered for its effect on workers over a long period and in
emergencies, such as acute spills or breakage.
 Environmental Data and Physical Examination
Environmental contaminants, exposures, and stressors must be eliminated wherever possible.
If they cannot be eliminated completely, personal protective devices must be provided.
As the environment is measured, physical examinations should be made of the organ systems
affected by particular materials, etc.
Information about exposure can be computerized.
This system must involve a coordinated, epidemiological approach.
Industrial engineers determine workers' location and movements. Industrial hygienists monitor the
environment and atmospheric exposures.
The medical department gives workers physical examinations and conducts multiphasic
screenings.

Functions and Duties of Health Professionals

1. Occupational physician
Occupational physicians must be familiar with the industrial process in the plant, with the potential
and actual health hazards associated with the manufacturing process, and with the physical
requirements of the job.
They often step out of their offices into the plant environment or 'shop floor' atmosphere for
discussions with supervisors and workers. Only then will the physician be able to advise
management about health conditions, health hazards, and safeguards to protect health and safety.
Occupational physicians must have basic information to conduct preplacement and periodic
examinations, and health education programs in the plant. They must also have a basic
knowledge of prevention, industrial hygiene, engineering control measures, ergonomics,
standards, etc.
They should arrange for ongoing first aid courses for plant personnel and cardiopulmonary
resuscitation courses, directed by ambulance and plant medical staff.
An applicant or an employee's health record should not be discussed with other personnel, except
as required in the performance of their duty.
Diagnoses are confidential, between the occupational physician and the employee.
Any biased judgment or opinion which might be used to further the company's or the employee's
interest at the expense of the other is unprofessional and highly inappropriate.

2. Occupational health nurses

Nurses should be well trained and, if possible, certificated in occupational health nursing. Duties
include prevention, treatment, education, and rehabilitation.
Nurses' preliminary testing and completion of medical questionnaires in preplacement and periodic
examination enable occupational doctors to spend more time with abnormal findings.
With written orders from the physician, the nurse can handle many major accidents and injuries.
Written orders are necessary to define the nurse's limits and responsibilities in treating patients.
Sometimes rehabilitation is carried out in the unit or in the local hospital.
Nurses should be in contact with the rehabilitation team. Nurses educate individual workers or
groups of workers in proper health techniques, diets, hypertension, and the proper use of personal
protective equipment.
Also, nurses serve as counsellors for personal, physical, and mental health problems. They can
often be especially effective in alcohol and drug abuse.
Occupational health nurses should visit the shop floor and other areas in the plant periodically, in
order to understand the relationship between employees' symptoms and works.
 3. Industrial hygienist
Industrial hygienists may be an integral part of the plant health and safety team, or may be hired
as outside consultants to monitor the workplace.
Hygienists must make corporate management aware of potential in-plant environmental hazards,
how to measure these hazards, and appropriate engineering controls.
They must periodically monitor the controlled environment and must work closely with physicians
and nurses to achieve and maintain proper environmental control.
Hygienists have special knowledge in hygiene, toxicology, and ergonomics.
They must also be familiar with the shop floor.

4. Safety and accident prevention coordinator

All safety and accident prevention programs in the plant are the coordinator's responsibility.
The coordinator must attend to unsafe actions by employees and the unsafe environment.
The safety supervisor must make periodic checks of the working environment and be familiar with
the number and severity of accidents.
The coordinator must be in close contact with the physician and nurse, in order to effectively work
as a team member.
These professionals have traditionally reported to the personnel department, but it may be more
appropriate for them to report to the same company official as the medical officer does.

5. First-aid personnel
Often, where there is no full-time or part-time physician or nurse, employees are selected and
trained to provide emergency first aid in the plant. They should obtain certification from a first aid
course. Where there are physicians or nurses in the plant, these programs are organized by the
health services department, which must ensure that enough employees are trained to do
emergency first aid.

6. Other health professionals

Other health professionals may be involved in the medical department, such as a health physicist,
a psychologist, or a social worker. The need for these will be governed by the size and the type of
operation.

Health Records
The health record at work should contain all information about employees' health
It must record all occupational injuries, illnesses, and treatments.
Records must be kept confidential; the personnel office and management are entitled to know
whether or not a worker can fulfill a job properly, but must not have access to confidential
information.

Evaluation
In order to evaluate the program's effectiveness and to determine costs of medical services
and a realistic budget, statistical reporting should cover costs, number of patients, tests.

1. Accident and illness investigation reports

The causes of occupational injury and illness can be determined by an accident or illness report
completed jointly by the first-line supervisor, the plant safety coordinator, and the medical officer.
If each of these people completes their portion of the report accurately, unsuspected problem
areas may be identified and controlled. Such a report helps reduce accidents by making all
employees more aware of the in-plant environment.
 2. Industrial hygiene records
The hygienist should do enough examinations to characterize in-plant exposure to environmental
hazards at different locations.
These reports should be more than a list of numerical values; they should also interpret the
findings and discuss corrective action.
Acceptable exposure concentration should be emphasized.

3. Industrial hygiene surveys

After an initial plant evaluation, the industrial hygienist will do a baseline survey of the working
environment, including vapors, dusts, etc.
The hygienist will also periodically monitor the plant.
The number of individual samples can usually be reduced after the baseline is obtained.
Emergency surveys are done when there are sudden spills or explosions.
Management should consult the doctor and the industrial hygienist early in the planning and pilot
stages of a new process or operation, so that necessary environmental control and medical
monitoring can be included in economic feasibility studies. Environmental and occupational health
are essential business expenses. Everyone should be aware that minimal changes in the process
can cause maximal environmental problems.

Safety and Accident Prevention

Property, machine, fire, mechanical, and electrical safety should be considered. Management and
workers must be educated about safety procedures.
There must be a systematic inspection of new, re- vised, and existing production and safety
equipment.
A systematic accident investigation program should be coordinated.

Special Programs
In addition to basic occupational health and safety procedures, there are special risks and special
toxicants in many industries, needing programs to identify, monitor, and control them.
Other special programs could include: medical disaster control, alcohol and drug abuse control,
consultation and management on group insurance benefits, absentee control (prevention rather
than policing), occupational mental health, controlling hazards and toxins that escape from the
plant into the community, expansion of community services, and health evaluation of new or
modified products as they affect consumers.

Conclusion
Prevention of illness and injury, promotion of health through proper evaluation of
the employee and the working environment, and measures to combat emergencies
and other stressors are features of a comprehensive occupational health program.
The breadth of such a program depends upon the number of employees, the
enlightenment of management and labor unions, the costs that may be borne by the
industry and the community, and the priority given to these preventive approaches
in the total spectrum of health care in the community.
A proper program should enable employees to develop their potential and maintain
their health.
The returns to management and to the community are decreased absenteeism,
increased productivity, and a healthier and happier work force.