occupational health care: faqs
General FAQS:
Where
exactly are Medmark's Dublin offices?
What are the office opening hours?
What type of assessment is performed?
How do I make an appointment?
What if I am running late?
FAQs about post offer of employment assessments:
What
is the purpose of the post offer of employment health assessment?
What is involved in the post offer of employment health assessment?
Who performs the post offer of employment health assessment?
How long do the assessments take?
Are the assessments confidential?
Is a report required from my doctor?
Is a report issued?
How long before a report is issued?
FAQs about occupational health or work assessments:
For employers & employees:
What
is the purpose of an occupational health or work assessment?
Are these assessments confidential?
Is a report issued at the end of the assessment?
How long before a report is issued?
For employees:
What issues are addressed?
What is involved in this assessment?
Who performs these assessments?
How long do these assessments take?
For employers:
If I have a case what should I do?
Do I need to fill out a referral form?
FAQs about other specific assessments:
What
other specific occupational health assessments may be performed?
What is involved in eye and eyesight test (VDU assessments)?
What is involved in respiratory surveillance investigations?
What is involved in noise/hearing surveillance?
What is involved in night worker surveillance?
What is involved in drugs of abuse screening?
What is involved in VO2 max assessments?
What is involved in skin surveillance?
For employers:
What other occupational services do you
provide?
How can I obtain information about these programs?
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General FAQS:
Where exactly are
Medmark's Dublin offices?
The Dublin offices are located on the town side of Baggot Street Bridge,
50 yards from the Bank of Ireland headquarters, between the Mercy
Convent and the bridge. We are a short walk from the Lansdowne Road
and Grand Canal Dock DART stations and from the Charlemont Street
or St. Stephen's Green Luas stations. Metered parking is freely
available nearby on Baggot Street, Herbert Street and along the
canal. For more details on how to find us go to our location
page»
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What are the office opening
hours?
The phones are manned from 8 am until 5 pm. Medicals are available
from Monday until Friday from 7 am until 5.45 pm. All clients are
seen by appointment and should expect to be seen on time.
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What type of assessment is performed?
Broadly we perform three categories of assessment: post offer of employment
assessments, occupational health or work assessments and other specific
assessments.
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How do I make an appointment?
Phone the office any time between 8.00 am and 5.00 pm. Have your
diary with you!
Email us with your details if you have difficulty contacting us
by phone at info@medmark.ie or admin@medmark.ie and we
will call you directly to arrange the appointment.
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What if I am running late?
Please arrive at the building about 5 minutes before your appointment
time. It is important not to be late or the doctor may have difficulty
seeing you. If you know beforehand that you cannot make the appointment
or if you are going to be late please cancel/call the office to
reschedule the appointment. The doctor will see those who arrive
on time – on time. They will endeavour to see anyone who arrives
late – but this is not always possible and sometimes you may
have to be rescheduled.
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FAQs about post offer of employment health assessments:
What is the purpose of the
post offer of employment health assessment?
The purpose of the post offer of employment health assessment is to determine
the applicant's medical fitness for work. It is important to ensure that
the applicant can perform the role safely without undue risk to
their health or that of others. Special recommendations or accommodations
about work or work practice may be made as a result of this assessment.
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What is involved in the
post offer of employment health assessment?
The post offer of employment health assessment may be performed by questionnaire
only, by questionnaire followed by an examination by an occupational
health nurse, or questionnaire followed by a detailed physical examination
by an occupational physician. Sometimes, depending on the nature
of the post being applied for, other special tests are performed
at this time. Further details can be seen under FAQs about other
specific health assessments.
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Who performs the post offer of employment
health assessment?
An occupational health nurse or an occupational physician performs
these assessments.
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How long do the assessments
take?
Completion of questionnaire and examination by an occupational
health nurse or occupational physician usually takes about 30 minutes.
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Are the assessments confidential?
The results of the assessment are made known to the employer.
This may include suggested amendments to the nature of work or special
equipment that should be used to enable the individual to work safely.
The clinical content of the questionnaire and the results of the
physical examination are confidential and are not disclosed to the
employer except under exceptional circumstances and only then with
the explicit written consent of the employee.
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Is a report required from
my doctor?
Very rarely depending on the applicant's medical history a report
may be required from the applicant’s personal physicians.
These reports are only sought with the explicit written consent
of the individual applicant.
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Is a report issued?
Yes a report is issued to your employer concerning your fitness
for work.
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How long before a report
is issued?
In urgent situations a phone call can be made on the same day.
Written reports are usually posted the same day or the following
day.
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FAQs about occupational health or work assessments
For employers & employees:
What is the purpose
of an occupational health or work assessment?
Occupational health or work assessments are usually performed to ensure that being at work will not adversely the health of an employee. They are usually performed -where an employee has been out
sick for a prolonged period, or before an employee returns to work
after prolonged absence, perhaps because of frequent short term absences, or
when a suspicion arises that poor work performance may be due to
a health related matter, or sometimes to determine if rehabilitation of an employee is feasible or if early retirement on the grounds of ill-health must be considered etc.
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Are these assessments confidential?
At the end of the assessment of the doctor will make a determination
of the individual's fitness for work. The doctor may make recommendations
about accommodations that should be made to their work or practice to protect their health.
The individual's personal, social and medical history and examination
findings are not disclosed as part of these reports except rarely,
and even then, only with the expressed written consent of the individual.
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Is a report issued at the
end of the assessment?
Yes a report is issued to the employer or referring manager, indicating
fitness for work, likely time frame for return to work, reasonable
accommodations that might be made to enable a successful return
to workplace etc.
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How long before a report
is issued?
A phone call can be made to the referring person at the end of
the assessment. A short handwritten report can be posted on the
same day. A full typed report is usually posted within 5 working
days of the assessment.
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For employees:
What issues are addressed?
The issues that are addressed in these assessments are usually
in response to concerns or questions about the individual’s
health that may interfere with their fitness for work. This may
include health, social, family, substance use, and related issues.
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What is involved in this
assessment?
In these assessments the employee meets with the occupational
physician. A detailed occupational, medical and social history is
taken. It may be followed by physical examination. At the end of
the assessment the doctor will discuss with the employee the content
of the report that they will issue.
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Who performs these assessments?
Occupational physicians perform these assessments.
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How long do these assessments
take?
The duration of these assessments varies from 30 minutes to 75
minutes according to the complexities of the case.
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For employers:
If I have a case what should
I do?
Ideally you should phone our secretary, make an appointment, then
complete a referral form for the examining doctors or you may wish
to speak to the examining doctor before a referral is made. The
doctor will listen to your concerns and discuss the best plan to
move forward.
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Do I need to fill out a
referral form?
Yes, administration will likely get you to fill out a referral
form in which you should detail the issues you would like addressed
at the assessment. The doctor may discuss the content of the referral
form with the employee at the start of the assessment: to illustrate
the purpose of the assessment.
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FAQs about other specific assessments
What other specific occupational
health assessments may be performed?
Other specific occupational health assessments include the following:
eye and eyesight tests (VDU assessments), respiratory surveillance
investigations, noise/hearing surveillance programmes, night worker
assessments, drugs of abuse screening, VO2 max assessments, skin
surveillance, blood tests, vaccination programmes. The aim of these assessments is protect and maintain the health of the employee.
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What is involved in eye
and eyesight test (VDU assessments)?
This involves completing a questionnaire, examining the eye and
performing a visual acuity test.
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What is involved in respiratory
surveillance investigations?
These usually involve completion of a questionnaire, physical
examination of the respiratory system and lung function tests.
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What is involved in noise/hearing
surveillance?
This involves completion of a noise/hearing questionnaire, examination
of the ears, ear canal and eardrum and an audiogram (hearing test).
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What is involved in night
worker surveillance?
This usually involves completion of the questionnaire followed
by an assessment with the occupational physician.
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What is involved in drugs
of abuse screening?
This is performed with the written consent of the individual.
A short questionnaire is completed. A urine sample is taken and
is either tested immediately or referred to a laboratory for screening.
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What is involved in VO2
max assessments?
Certain occupations require that the individuals performing them
have a high degree of physical fitness. These assessments are performed
to assess the individual's physical fitness. For these tests you
must allow about one hour for the entire assessment. As part of
this test you will be required to exercise on a treadmill. You will
likely work up quite a sweat. For your comfort please wear or bring
either tracksuit bottoms or a pair of shorts and a pair of runners.
There are shower facilities and towels available for clients in
the changing area after this test.
What is involved in skin
surveillance?
This usually comprises a questionnaire followed by an examination
of the skin.
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For employers:
What other occupational
services do you provide?
We provide a range of other services including the following:
Employment assistance programmes (EAPs);
Health screening programmes;
Stress management programmes;
Health promotion programmes;
Absence management programmes;
Ergonomic and workstation assessments.
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How can I obtain information
about these programs?
For further information on these programs please contact us by
phone or by email at info@medmark.ie or admin@medmark.ie and we
will call back.
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