General FAQS:

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.

What type of assessment is performed?
Broadly we perform three categories of assessment: pre-employment assessments, occupational health or work assessments and other specific assessments.

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.

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.

 

FAQs about pre-employment health assessments:

What is the purpose of the pre-employment health assessment?
The purpose of the pre-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.

What is involved in the pre-employment health assessment?
The pre-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.

Who performs the pre-employment health assessment?
An occupational physician, an occupational health nurse and/or a medical technician performs these assessments.

How long do the assessments take?
Completion of questionnaire and examination by an occupational health nurse or occupational physician usually takes about 30 minutes.

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.

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.

Is a report issued?
Yes a report is issued to your employer concerning your fitness for work.

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.

 

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 should be considered..

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 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.

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.

How long before a report is issued?
A phone call can be made to the referring person at the end of the assessment. A full typed report is usually posted within 5 working days of the assessment. Reports can also be downloaded securely from our portal.

 

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.

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.

Who performs these assessments?
Occupational physicians perform these assessments.

How long do these assessments take?
The duration of these assessments varies from 30 minutes to 75 minutes according to the complexity of the case.

 

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.

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 will probably discuss the content of the referral form with the employee at the start of the assessment: to illustrate the purpose of the assessment.

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 to protect and maintain the health of the employee.

What is involved in eye and eyesight test (VDU assessments)?
This involves completing a questionnaire, examining the eye and performing a visual acuity test.

What is involved in respiratory surveillance investigations?
These usually involve completion of a questionnaire, physical examination of the respiratory system and lung function tests.

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).

What is involved in night worker surveillance?
This usually involves completion of the questionnaire followed by an assessment with the occupational physician.

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 and or referred to a laboratory for screening.

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 step. 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.

What is involved in skin surveillance?
This usually comprises a questionnaire followed by an examination of the skin.

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.

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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