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07 September 2010 - NR 34/10

DANGERS OF DRINK AND DRUGS AT WORK TACKLED AT NATIONAL EVENT

Drink and drugs at work and the six-fold increase in related road deaths were up for inspection at a national public sector health and safety event held in Nottingham.

The National Safety Symposium 2010 runs from Sunday to Tuesday (5-7 September) and is organised by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) - a Leicester-based charity and the main international body for professionals in the industry.
During her talk yesterday (Monday 6 September), ‘Tackling alcohol and substance abuse’, Lucy Wright, consultant occupational physician and Director of Clinical Development for Atos Healthcare, said that 32 per cent of the total number of people killed while driving have alcohol in their system. Cannabis was also detected in 12 per cent of road traffic accidents. Her session formed part of a three-day programme of events at the Nottingham Belfry Hotel, covering all manner of road-related workplace health and safety issues that companies from public service, healthcare, education and environmental and waste management backgrounds could face.
In particular, Lucy Wright’s focus was on work-related driving and the influence drugs and alcohol can have on performance, as well as how employers and workers can get support and treatment for abuse problems.
She said: “Since 1987 there has been a six-fold increase in road users killed while under the influence of illicit drugs, yet alcohol remains a bigger problem for road accidents across the board.
“Historically, non-safety critical workplaces are more forgiving with alcohol – finding empty bottles in the desk isn’t viewed as seriously as drugs, mostly because of the legality issue.
“The other thing is drugs are difficult to detect through testing, but there are really good tests for alcohol. Having said that, while systems for testing drugs are not as finely tuned at the moment, they are being developed.”
She stressed the importance of employers having a good substance abuse policy with consistent application and covered Government statistics on driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, plus vehicle licensing medical standards on alcohol and drugs.
“Employees need to be aware of the impact of using drugs and alcohol, as well as the implications of what will happen if they are tested positive, for example in workplaces with a ‘one strike and out’ policy,” Ms Wright added.
Richard Jones, Policy and Technical Director for IOSH, said: “Alcohol and drugs can negatively impact upon workplace safety, as they can affect things like people’s ability to exercise judgement, co-ordination, motor control, concentration and alertness. This can increase risk of injury or illness to themselves and others.
“It’s important employees are given the information, training and support they need to keep people safe and to ensure good, healthy working lives.
“IOSH’s National Safety Symposium is a key date in the occupational safety and health calendar for helping to keep practitioners and others up-to-date on the issues affecting modern working life. This year’s focus is on logistics and covers workers across the spectrum including lone NHS workers, refuse collectors, lorry drivers, police, fire crew, ambulance staff and a host of others.”

About Atos Healthcare
• Atos Healthcare, a division of Atos Origin, combines the Company's expertise in consulting, technology and healthcare to improve the way care is delivered. Services range from lean service transformation, commissioning, hosting and software development, through to disability assessments, occupational health and front line primary care. Atos Healthcare has over 3,000 staff, of whom around two-thirds are medical professionals. For more information, visit www.atoshealthcare.com

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Notes for editors:

IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 40,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.