Select Page
  1. Home
  2. Occupational Health Assessment
  3. What is a Safety Critical Medical?

Call Us: 01793 852951

info@safewell.co.uk

 Frequently Asked Question 

What is a Safety Critical Medical?

The term “safety-critical work” 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.” (CBH, 2015).

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers have a duty of care to prevent the ill-health of their workers. This is relevant to those employed in safety-critical tasks such as construction, working at height and mobile plant operators. Safety-critical workers (SCW) should not be suffering from medical conditions or undergoing any medical treatment which could lead to a sudden loss of consciousness or incapacity, impairment of awareness, concentration, balance or coordination or significant limitation of mobility.

At Safewell Ltd we offer Safety Critical Medicals as outlined by the HSE.

Who Can Have a Safety Critical Medical?

We can carry out Safety Critical Medicals for:

  • Individuals who need to demonstrate they are fit to work prior to employment (typically this is for self-employed trades and those workers being placed via an agency). Payment in advance for individuals.
  • Employees – to be arranged by their employers either at your site or workplace, or at our offices in Royal Wootton Bassett
What the Medicals include:

The outcome is a “Fitness for Work ” certificate issued to the employee and employer.

Safety critical roles:

In the construction industry, the following roles have been defined as ‘safety critical’:

  • FLT Driver
  • Construction Worker (Non Railway)
  • Driver and Mechanical Handling Equipment Operator
  • Plant Operator (general, crane, mobile machine driver)
  • Scaffolder/Rigger
  • Roadside (high speed)
  • Tunnelling worker
  • Slinger/Signaller/Banksman/Traffic Marshall
  • Confined Space
  • Steeplejack
  • Working at Heights
  • Electrician (in some cases)
How long does a Safety Critical Medical last?

A standard Safety Critical Medical will take around 1 hour to complete but if additional options are required, i.e. Drug & Alcohol Testing, Cholesterol Testing, etc., it will require anywhere from an extra 15 to 30 minutes longer. Ultimately it depends on what your working role requires, so times will vary.

At Safewell we always aim to get the Safety Critical Medicals turned around as quickly as possible so as not to delay your working day.

How often is a Safety Critical Medical required?

At Safewell Ltd we recommend that a Safety Critical Medical is carried out annually: a lot can change in a year and also the requirements of the role may change. Other factors are:

  • Age of employee.
  • Risk of your job role.
  • Changing working environment.

You may also have a new business contract that stipulates Safety Critical Medicals are done annually to fall in line with their Health & Safety requirements.

What do I have to bring with me?

When you are having your Safety-Critical Medical, ideally bring with you a form of I.D. (Driving Licence or Passport) and any existing information regarding the medication you are currently taking.

Where can a Safety Critical Medical be carried out?

The Safety-Critical Medicals can be carried out at our offices in Royal Wootton Bassett or at your site.

Are Safety Critical Medicals only for Construction?

Safety-Critical Medicals are most commonly required for the construction industry and construction-related works. Some other industries such as engineering, manufacturing, woodworking and offshore may also use the phrase ‘safety-critical medical’ to describe health surveillance medicals for their workers.

What does a Safety Critical Medical Cost?

Most people enquiring want to know how much a safety-critical medical test costs. Our safety-critical medical price is £140+VAT (2023 price) if an individual comes to our offices in Royal Wootton Bassett. If the safety-critical medicals are on a customer site or for multiple medicals (both at a customer site or our offices) the cost is based on half and full-day rates. Please call for these.

Complete the form to arrange a Safety Critical Medical

This will email the Admin Team and one of them will contact you.

  • If you prefer to call us, for an even faster response, our number is 01793 852951.
  • Here's how we will use the information you provide.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Quick Contact

  • How we use information you provide.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Management and Admin Team

Featured Courses

Reviews

Ray Hurst
October 16, 2018

President of IOSH 2008, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

I am pleased that you are helping dispel some of the dafter myths that surround OH&S (a passion you and I clearly have in common) and the item clearly indicates that as with so many of our professional colleagues you are not about stopping fun on the pretext of H&S. It is only with the help of people such as yourself that we will eventually get the message across that OH&S is about bringing (as you so aptly put it) purpose and value to peoples lives

Pin It on Pinterest

Was this useful?

Share this post with your friends!