The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) is New Zealand’s workplace health and safety law. It came into effect on 4 April 2016 in response to findings from the 2013 Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety that New Zealand’s work health and safety system was failing. As a result, New Zealand’s work health and safety system underwent its most significant reform for 20 years resulting in the establishment of WorkSafe New Zealand as the primary health and safety regulator.
The Health & Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 states that Health Monitoring refers to monitoring a person to identify any changes in his or her health status because of exposure to certain health hazards arising from the conduct of the business or undertaking.
Health monitoring is a way to check if the health of your employees is being affected from exposure to hazards while carrying out work. It also aims to detect early signs of ill health or disease. Examples of health monitoring tests include:
- spirometry (lung function)
- audiometry (hearing)
- vision
Health monitoring requirements will differ depending on the type of business or undertaking.
At Wanaka Medical our trained Occupational Health Nurses led by Chrissie Colbourne (PGCertOccMed), can provide appropriate health monitoring for your staff. Chrissie can also advise you on what your obligations are and arrange appropriate testing. We are also accredited to perform drug and alcohol testing both on site and off site – see Drug Testing.
Phone the office on 443 0710 or email to enquire and arrange appointments for your staff. We are able to work with you to arrange appointments for the monitoring you require either at the medical centre or on site at your business.
