- Faculty of Occupational Medicine - https://www.fom.ac.uk -

Competency 5 – Relationships with patients:Recognise the potential pitfalls of inappropriate occupational health practice

Objective: to have the knowledge, skills and attitudes to cope with ethical and legal issues in the management of patients with occupational problems

SKILLS

RECOGNISE THE POTENTIAL PITFALLS OF INAPPROPRIATE OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PRACTICE

This can be elicited by discussing cases of inappropriate occupational health practice.

STUDENT ACTIVITY

Scenario 1

Consider a surgical Foundation Year 1 (F1) who inadvertently pricks their finger with the needle already used in taking pre-operative bloods from a healthy patient who has been booked in for a laparoscopic cholycystectomy (removal of the gallbladder). At the time the F1 does not follow the correct procedure as outlined by his hospital regarding needle stick injuries.

Question1

Answer

Question2

Answer

Question3

Answer

Question4

Answer

6 months on this FY1 is diagnosed with hepatitis C.

Question5

Answer

Scenario 2

Consider a cook who has recently returned from a holiday with diarrhoea. She is due to return to work and has been informed that 2 of her colleagues are off sick. This cook had missed 2 previous required medical examinations from the occupational health department which had not been followed up. Consequently, she was unaware of the company’s policy on informing line managers of any episodes of diarrhoea or vomiting prior to returning to work.

Question1

Answer

Question2

Answer

Question3

Answer

Question4

Answer

2 days later there is an outbreak of campylobacter and the restaurant is closed. Employees had samples of their stools sent to the local hospital which detected the campylobacter and notified Public Health Department and the Local Health Authority of their findings. The local health authority in turn sent the environmental health officers to investigate the restaurant.

The above 2 scenarios demonstrate the potential consequences of not adhering to correct occupational health advice and procedures. The impact can be on an individual level as well as an organisational level, with multiple consequences ranging from social, psychological, financial to biological effects that could be long-lasting. One salient point to make is that in most situations, such outcomes are preventable with adhering to correct occupational health policies or recommendations. 

[1]