Current news in occupational preventive health care services

Overview

The provision of occupational health care services is a complex activity made up of performing preventive occupational health care examinations and drawing medical opinion to working ability, investigation and assessing of occupational diseases, working conditions supervision and skilled consulting service. At present, the Department of Occupational Health at the University Hospital in Hradec Králové performs the occupational health care services for more than 120 employers in the Hradec Králové region and partly in the Pardubice region. The organisation and execution of preventive medical examinations and diagnosis abides by the rules embodied in the contract, by valid legislation and by decision of protection of public health body for particular workplaces, professions and work hazards.

The spectrum of managed workplaces and employment is very wide:
from industrial and agricultural companies, educational and health care institutions to the laboratory, research and other work places. In this article, the attention is paid to questions of initial, exceptional and follow-up preventive examinations. An example of cooperation in the area of the occupational health care services provided for employees by a foreign company, which deals with the production of part for the automobile industry, is outlined. In particular, this deals with employees on the assembly line who are at risk of local muscle overloading of upper extremities.

The diseases resulted most often from this risk factor are carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis humeri, tendinitis in the area of forearm and hand, arthrosis in the area of wrist and hands, trigger fingers.

Key words:
occupational health care, preventive medical examinations, occupational diseases, risk of local muscle overloading.