Health Risk Management

Risk assessment is central to the preventative discipline of Occupational Health. This assessment informs every subsequent action from hygiene monitoring to the medical surveillance programme. The centrality of the risk assessment process is enshrined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its Regulations, notably the Lead, Noise, Hazardous Biological Agents, Hazardous Chemical Substances and the Asbestos Regulations.

Health risk management is an organised tool to identify, assess and reduce the risk within an organisation, as well as the primary prevention of hazards. The risk management plan should describe ways to minimise potential incidents and measures to prevent or manage hazards. This plan needs to be reviewed and updated regularly.

Risk assessments need to be done for situations where occupational health hazards may occur, threatening the health of employees, visitors to the workplace and the environment surrounding the organisation.

Dr Haidee Williams assists the organisation in taking necessary steps to mitigate health and safety risks by:

• Facilitating health risk assessments
• Participate in the on-site safety &environmental Risk Assessments and provide inputs accordingly depending on factors such as industry sector and the geographic context
• Assist by identifying appropriate risk mitigation strategies.

Social and environmental risks include environmental pollution that threatens the region’s biodiversity and human health.