Fitness for Task Medical Assessments

All group 1 car drivers must meet certain parameters of fitness, as well as meet appropriate visual acuity standards to ensure safety on the roads. Where employees are driving on behalf of your business, you’ll want to ensure that the appropriate fitness-to-drive parameters are being met.

Kays Medical can provide appropriate DVLA group 1 licence driver fitness for task assurance medicals. Whilst there is no legally defined frequency for this type of intervention, we can work with your business’s health and safety teams to provide appropriate interventions based on lifestyle risk factors.

It is a legal requirement for your business to conduct driver medicals for all DVLA Group 2 drivers, meeting the medical standards for Drivers of large goods vehicles (LGV) and passenger-carrying vehicles (PCV).

Your business should be conducting DVLA Group 2 medicals every five years, from the age of 45 until age 65. Any employee wishing to continue after the age of 65 will need to apply for an annual renewal of their licence and provide a satisfactory medical report.

At Kays Medical, we recommend any employees who have been off work for more than a month also undergo an assessment for fitness to drive. If an employee declares an illness that could affect their driving, they should also undergo a return-to-work assessment for fitness to drive. By law, medical conditions that could impact driving ability need to be reported to the DVLA.

A fitness to drive assessment appointment takes approximately 45 minutes, and your employees will receive their results at the end.

The DVLA does not have responsibility for licensing workplace transport drivers if they do not drive on public roads. However, health and safety regulations should stipulate that your business ensures employees are medically fit to drive.

For most work, medical standards equivalent to the DVLA Group 1 requirements will be appropriate. However, more stringent standards may be required if work is undertaken in safety-critical environments, involves highly toxic or explosive materials, working at night or operating large, heavy vehicles. In these instances, some or all of the medical standards equivalent to Group 2 are usually appropriate.

Physical and mental fitness to drive is usually undertaken on a periodic basis, depending on your business needs and the outcome of any risk assessments.

Kays Medical recommend assessment prior to any driving activity at work, after an absence of more than one month, or after a shorter absence where the illness might have affected driving ability.

If a GP signs a worker off as fit to return to work, this may not be the same as fitness to operate workplace transport. We recommend internal fitness to drive assessments take place too.

Fitness for driving operations in these circumstances does not have to be verified through a GMC registered Doctor. Our specialist occupational health advisors can ensure appropriate driving fitness through our face-to-face driver assessments, which usually take around 30 mins.

The Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 790 ‘Requirement for an Airside Driving Permit (ADP) Scheme’ sets out the requirements for Aerodrome operators in relation to driving airside. As with other safety-critical environments, the standard requires aerodrome operators to ensure medical fitness for driving in terms of Apron, Manoeuvring and Runway operations, and the specific vehicle type.

Here at Kays Medical, we provide the necessary medical assessment required, usually operating against the DVLA Group 2 licence criteria. We also ensure colour vision capabilities are met for these roles.

Most aerodrome operators require the medical to be undertaken every three years.

Kays Medical provides a full range of fitness-for-task medicals associated with driving activities in the workplace, including plant operator and forklift medical fitness.

According to the HSEs HSG 6 publication, employees selected to operate lift trucks should be free from physical defects that might pose a threat to their own health or safety or the safety of others. Fitness for operating should always be judged individually.

It is good practice for all operators and potential operators to be screened for fitness before employment and again at regular intervals. Operators between the ages of 40 and 65 should be examined every five years, whereas operators over 65 should be screened annually.

Examination is also recommended in all cases after an accident or sickness absence of more than one month or after a shorter period if it appears likely that the illness may affect fitness to operate.

Should any operator or employer suspect or become aware of a condition that might affect the ability to operate a lift truck, then an examination should also take place.

Kays Medical, as a matter of risk management, recommends annual paper-based driver assessment/declarations as an interim measure between formal 5-yearly or post-sickness interventions. We typically apply Group 2 licence medical requirements for FLT driving, particularly in safety-critical operations.

Here at Kays Medical, we provide the annual Night Worker Medical Assessment required under the Working Time Directive.

The purpose of a Night Worker Health Assessment is to determine whether a worker is fit to undertake the night work to which they have been assigned. It is important for your business to undergo this process to protect your workforce by determining whether the work will affect the employee’s health. We offer either a simple health questionnaire assessment (minimum requirement) or convenient on-site medical assessments (best practice), depending on your business needs and preferences.

Working in a confined space may be hazardous. It is important that your business assesses employee health to determine if your employees have any medical conditions which may put them at increased risk within this environment or if they require adjustments to help ensure that any risks are minimised.

A confined space is defined by the HSE as “a place which is substantially enclosed (though not always entirely), and where serious injury can occur from hazardous substances or conditions within the space or nearby (e.g., lack of oxygen)”.

Kays Medical can support your business by undertaking appropriate assessments for your employees. This can be undertaken at your workplace or a Kays Medical office.

At any time of the day or night, firefighters need to be ready to perform a range of emergency duties to protect the public from dangerous situations.

These duties can, at times, involve extreme physical exertion due to the need to mobilise heavy equipment, extreme environmental temperatures, and having to wear thermally insulating personal protective equipment. Each of these factors adds stress to the mind and body, in particular the muscular-skeletal and cardio-respiratory systems.

Kays Medical provides medical fitness assessments for both new entrants and established firefighters in a range of occupational settings, including aerodromes.

Within the medical assessment process, an appropriate fitness test element can also be provided against the risk assessment criteria set by your business.

Here at Kays Medical, we have experience delivering recruitment and periodic police officer medicals, aiding to ensure new police recruits and established officers are physically and psychologically fit for the role.

All new police officer entrants require a medical. Whilst there is no requirement for additional assessments, we understand the mental and physical stress this role can have on an individual. At Kays Medical, we recommend providing periodic medicals every three years for established officers, with a focus on ensuring they are fit for the role, particularly for duties such as response driving.

We can also provide medicals for specialist police officer roles, depending on your role criteria and business needs. Authorised Firearms Officers face significant physical and psychological challenges on an ongoing basis in their roles. They must be physically and psychologically resilient for tough assignments. Kays Medical have experience in examining new entrants and establishing authorised firearms officers to the prescribed NPCC Medical standards.

Usually, AFO medicals are undertaken annually and through agreement with the appropriate Law Enforcement Agency/police force. AFO medicals usually do not require an appropriate fitness test. Colour vision screening would normally be assessed as a matter of procedure.

Working at height (WAH) encompasses a wide variety of activities that may pose significant risks to your employees, particularly if they have an underlying health disorder which impacts balance, grip strength, or fitness.

Kays Medical can provide the working at height medicals in line with your business needs, whether your employees are scaling pylons or regularly accessing tower cranes. The WAH intervention is typically designed to detect and assess any medical conditions that may compromise safety by creating a risk of falling. The intervention also reviews sudden incapacity risk that may require rescue. These interventions can also help ensure the required fitness for regular climbing of vertical ladders and working in hot or confined spaces. We can also provide extra tests that are working at height specific, including cardiovascular or agility screening, depending on your workplace risk assessment and job specifications.

A Safety Critical Worker (SCW) within the Construction Industry Standard is defined as “Where the ill health of an individual may compromise their ability to undertake a task defined as safety critical, thereby posing a significant risk to the health and safety of others”.

Candidates should not be suffering from medical conditions or be taking medical treatment likely to cause sudden loss of consciousness, impairment of awareness and concentration, sudden incapacity, impairment of balance or coordination, or significant limitation of mobility.

Medicals should be undertaken every 2 – 3 years, depending on your risk assessment. In addition to your assessment, you might consider health surveillance and drug and alcohol testing.

At Kays Medical, we can undertake the necessary assessments either at your workplace or at our site. Where necessary, medical outcomes can be uploaded to the appropriate constructing better health database.

People who work around open food while suffering from certain infections (mainly from bacteria and viruses) can contaminate the food or surfaces. This can spread infection and pose a serious health and hygiene risk.

Under the Food Safety Act, there is a duty to ensure that food handlers are not suffering from or carrying a disease likely to be transmitted through food. Kays Medical have experience helping food businesses conduct appropriate medical checks designed to ensure employees are fit to handle food on both a periodic and urgent referral basis, i.e. following sickness or work absence.

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is the application of measurement techniques to identify damage and irregularities in materials. NDT often provides the only method of obtaining information about the current ‘health’ of a process plant. If done well, NDT can provide useful information to assist in the management of plant safety. If inappropriate NDT is applied or NDT is not applied correctly, then the results are likely to give a false impression of the integrity and safety of your plant.

Most NDT techniques require the operators to have good eyesight, particularly near vision. Kays Medical can undertake the necessary visual acuity capability assessment, including providing an annual service as per recommendations.

If your employees are in a role where colour vision is important for safety-critical purposes, then colour vision testing is crucial in deciding on their fitness for work. Colour vision testing can also be useful for your business if it isn’t required for safety reasons but can aid in product quality and controls.

Here at Kays Medical, we can provide a variety of colour vision assessments for various workplace applications, including the Ishihara plate test, City University test, and the lantern test.

All seafarers must be fit for the job they undertake at sea in accordance with Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Medical Guidelines.

An ML5 seafarer medical fitness certificate is required when you are:

• The master of a passenger ship that doesn’t go to sea (Class IV or V).
• The master of a commercial vessel that doesn’t go to sea.
• The master or a crew member of a small commercial vessel certificated for Area Category 2 to 6 (no more than 60 miles from a safe haven).
• A crew member or anyone else (e.g., catering staff) who normally works on a domestic passenger ship (Class VI or VIA) that goes to sea.

Kays Medical are able to undertake the appropriate medical at the Liverpool Head Office location and potentially via our associate network at other 3rd party hub locations.

The ML5 is valid for a maximum of 5 years from the date of issue or up until the 65th birthday, whichever comes soonest. For those over 65 years of age, the medical must be completed annually.

It is the Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) policy that all persons working offshore should be examined periodically and classified as medically fit to work in the offshore environment.

There are specific medical guidelines that set out good practices for assessing the health of those working or intending to work offshore in the UK. The guidelines reflect the approach that assesses the risk a candidate with an underlying medical condition may pose either to themselves or to others.

The guide includes supplementary criteria for assessing the fitness of personnel to undertake in-water EBS training and forms for recording the outcome.

PTS is a system of safer working practices employed within the UK that is designed to ensure the safety of railway workers who are going to work on or near the line. The PTS Courses (which is where any rail maintenance career begins) can only be attended after the successful completion of the PTS Medical and Drug & Alcohol Test.

These tests are a requirement of Network Rail for obvious safety reasons and are compulsory. A valid PTS Medical and PTS Drug & Alcohol are required throughout your entire rail career.

Kays Medical is equipped to provide PTS medical across the UK, at a variety of hub locations, plus remotely at requested venues.

The PTS medical lasts up to 10 years, depending on your age. The medical assessment for PTS certificates must be undertaken by an accredited medical provider who is authorised by “RISQS” under the authority of Network Rail.

A Fitness for Task Medical Assessment is a health evaluation that determines whether an employee is medically fit and able to perform a specific job or task that has a high level of risk. It is needed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the employee and others, as well as to comply with health and safety regulations.

The content of a Fitness for Task Medical Assessment depends on the nature and requirements of the job or task. However, it usually includes a questionnaire covering medical history, mental health, lifestyle, and wellbeing, as well as physical measurements and tests such as height, weight, blood pressure, pulse, vision, hearing, lung function, mobility, and alertness.

A Fitness for Task Medical Assessment must be conducted by a trained occupational health professional, such as a Kays Medical technician, nurse, or physician. The frequency of the assessment varies depending on the type of job or task, but it is generally recommended when recruiting, transferring, or promoting staff or when staff are returning to work after an illness. Some jobs or tasks may require periodic assessments, such as every three years for people under 65 or annually for people over 65.