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Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)RegulationsRegulations for Hazardous Biological Agents, 20228. Medical surveillance |
| (1) | An employer must establish and maintain a documented system of medical surveillance of employees, which is overseen by an occupational health practitioner, if— |
| (a) | the results of the HBA risk assessment contemplated in regulation 6 indicate that an employee is at risk of exposure to HBAs; |
| (b) | the exposure of the employee to the HBA is hazardous to his or her health and is such that— |
| (i) | an identifiable disease or adverse effect to his or her health may be related to the exposure; |
| (ii) | there is a reasonable likelihood that the disease or effect may occur under the particular conditions of his or her work; and |
| (iii) | there are techniques such as preclinical biomarkers, where appropriate, for detecting sensitisation to allergens or an inflammatory response associated with exposure to diagnose indications of the disease or the effect as far as is reasonably practicable; or |
| (c) | an occupational health practitioner recommends that the relevant employee should be under medical surveillance, in which case the employer may call upon an occupational health practitioner to confirm the appropriateness of such recommendation. |
| (2) | In order to comply with the provisions of subregulation (1), the employer must, after in-depth counselling and education, ensure that the medical surveillance consists of— |
| (a) | an initial health evaluation, which should be carried out by an occupational health practitioner immediately before or within 14 days after a person commences employment where risk of exposure exists, which comprises— |
| (i) | an evaluation of the employee's medical and occupational history; |
| (ii) | a physical examination; and |
| (iii) | any biological tests and other appropriate medical tests or any other essential examination that in the opinion of the occupational health practitioner is desirable in order to enable the practitioner to do a proper evaluation; |
| (b) | periodic medical examinations and tests which should be carried out by an occupational health practitioner at intervals specified by him or her but not exceeding 24 months and which consists of— |
| (i) | a physical examination; and |
| (ii) | any biological tests and other appropriate medical tests or any other essential examination that in the opinion of the occupational health practitioner is desirable in order to enable the practitioner to do a proper evaluation; |
| (c) | exit medical examinations and tests which should be carried out by an occupational health practitioner and which consists of— |
| (i) | a physical examination; and |
| (ii) | any biological tests and other appropriate medical tests or any other essential examination that in the opinion of the occupational health practitioner is desirable in order to enable the practitioner to do a proper evaluation. |
| (3) | All tests and examinations as contemplated in subregulation (2) must be conducted according to a written medical protocol following current best practice, national or international guidelines. |
| (4) | All occupational health practitioners must submit to the employer for approval a written protocol for procedures to be followed when dealing with abnormal results. |
