KUALA LUMPUR: The Guidelines on Medical Surveillance at the Workplace 2023 will assist occupational health doctors in establishing current procedural standards for the Workplace Medical Surveillance Programme in terms of identifying diseases resulting from exposure to chemical substances.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud (pix) said the improved guidelines could also identify biomarker detection methods based on international standards and the health effects of chemical substances in a more organised and detailed manner.
He said the medical surveillance programme is an important initiative to protect workers dealing with hazardous chemicals, where employers are responsible for ensuring that employees exposed to these chemicals undergo regular health examinations.
“This programme will ensure that workers experiencing health effects due to working with chemical substances can be identified early, and employers can improve control measures to ensure that the use of these hazardous chemicals does not have short-term and long-term effects,“ he said during the launch of the guidelines here today.
Mustapha said the guidelines were developed in 2001 to assist occupational health doctors in conducting examinations on workers exposed to hazardous chemicals under the Occupational Safety and Health (Use and Standard of Exposure Chemical Hazardous to Health) Regulations 2000.
However, he noted that the guidelines have not been updated for 22 years based on medical advancements and current scientific evidence.
“In light of this, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health has taken the initiative to amend and enhance these existing guidelines since 2021,” he said. –Bernama
