SECTOR F OCUS
Se tting up an on-site health screening program me for workers is e a s y a n d c o u ld s av e liv e s Founded in 1994, the Construction Workers Health Trust is a registered charity whose principal activity is the provision of medical examinations to building workers on site or at their place of employment.
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he Construction Workers Health Trust (CWHT) provides an onsite health-screening service to construction workers. The service is funded through a voluntary weekly contribution of €1.50 made by workers through their pension scheme payment or by their employers. For this contribution, they will receive a biennial comprehensive 40-minute health screen from a nurse that covers blood pressure; height, weight and body mass index (BMI); cholesterol; lung function; diabetes; and any other issue that the worker chooses to raise. Generally, a nurse can screen 10 to 14 workers per day.
HEALTH SCREENING PROCESS
On average, CWHT screens 5,000 workers per annum. While, for the most part, the Irish workforce is young and healthy,
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issues do arise. Common problems are high cholesterol and hidden diabetes. Also, workers engaged in occupations where dust is prevalent often can have impaired lung function. The CWHT engages a professional service provider HealthWatch Irl Ltd to deliver the on-site service. The main reason for this is that there are onerous legal and ethical requirements involved in the provision of health screening, including GDPR, training of personnel and calibration of diagnostic instruments, which a professional provider is best set up to deliver. Brian Daly, CEO, CWHT, says that the service the Trust provides is an essential element in any health and safety manager’s toolkit, enabling them to focus on the health needs of workers in their care. “Our nurses make life-saving and
