What is Occupational Medicine?

Nowadays, Occupational Medicine is the medical speciality that deals with the health of workers. In fact, it tries to maintain their optimal state of health in all its aspects: biological, psychological and social.

How does it do this?

First, by protecting them from the risks to which they are exposed, in other words by looking at their working conditions and environment. The way to do this is to know what they are, and to provide the necessary advice to prevent them from affecting the worker's health.

Secondly, it teaches - with training - what kind of ailments can appear associated with the workplace.

It also provides first aid in the event of an emergency. It assists the injured person until he/she is referred to a medical centre -clinic, sanatorium or hospital-.

Finally, to maintain health, it promotes healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. It is important to keep statistics on why workers become ill in their daily lives in order to focus efforts.

Joint work with Health and Safety

We work as a team with Health and Safety, as they together with Occupational Medicine should determine the risks and control safety in the workplaces.

Health and Safety quantifies the risks - by means of measurements. As far as possible, they try to eliminate, reduce or isolate them.

They then follow up on them and how staff deal with them. They also train workers so that these risks do not harm them.

ILO and WHO definition of Occupational Medicine

The International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organisation formed a Joint Committee in 1950. As a result, they gave their definition of what Occupational Medicine is, through what it is expected to achieve:

Promote and maintain the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being in all occupations

Prevent all ill-health caused by the conditions of work

Protect them against hazards resulting from the presence of agents injurious to health

To place and keep the worker in a job suited to his physiological and psychological aptitudes.

In short, to adapt work to man and each man to his work.

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In other words, the occupational physician must:

First of all, keep workers healthy. In other words, teach them healthy nutrition, warm-up exercises - for example, stretching before their tasks - how to prevent the spread of diseases - in flu season, through vaccination campaigns - etc.

On the other hand, they must know what risks they will be exposed to in order to ensure that there will be a barrier between them and the risk through the use of PPE (personal protective equipment).

However, if despite the protective barrier, an injury occurs, it must be recognised and workers must be taught how to recognise the signs as soon as possible so that they do not play it down and consult as soon as possible, as we are dealing with an occupational disease.

Accidents at work

Despite all the preventive measures taken, sudden events, sudden and violent events may occur because of or in connection with work. Therefore, they can occur on the job itself, or on the way from home to work or vice versa, i.e. in itinere. In all these cases, it is an accident at work.

In addition, it is essential to know what skills are required for a particular job, so that when taking the entrance examination, it can be determined with certainty whether the applicant is suitable or not.