Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

The Occupational Health and Safety Act No130 of 1993 was legislated in South Africa in 1993. The South African Military Health Service established five Regional Occupational Health & Safety Centres covering the South African Military Community to comply with the implementation of this legislation. The Western Cape Regional Occupational Health & Safety Centre was established in October 1993. The staffing comprises of Occupational Medicine, Occupational Hygiene and Occupational Health Nursing. Sound policy was established and forms the basis of occupational health monitoring activites performed. The responsibility is for the employer to indicate by means of an annual risk assessment, workers risk to exposure albeit physical, chemical, biological, ergonomical and psycho-social from which an occupational medical surveillance program is designed indicating to the employer risk to exposure and risk to adverse health effects of workers in the workplace. The success of a small grouping of health care professionals providing a service is a matrix model of applied activities totally integrated in an Occupational Medical Surveillance program. The outcome of such a program is to demonstrate to the employer fitness to work, safety compromise, work and non work related health effects impacting on the employer, occupational disease notification procedures and ill health incapacity management. With limited resources HCP�s are able to perform health care activities, which reflects on a health care infomatics system which is used to measure performance based on an annual activity plan. This information is ultimately indicated in the medium term strategic framework and medium term expenditure framework for the allocation of resources.

Biography

Beverley Laura Beute holds diploma’s in General Nursing, Midwifery and Post-graduate Diploma in Psychiatry. She was a practicing midwife at 2 Military Hospitals for 7 years whereafter she branched out into Occupational Health Nursing in 1998. In 1999, she completed her certificate in Occupational Health Nursing at Stellenbosch University, followed by a certificate in screening audiometry in 2000 and in 2003 completed a BTech degree in Management, Research and advanced Occupational Health Nursing. In September 2002, she has presented two papers at an International Military Conference held at Sun City, of which one of the papers was published in an International Forces journal, December 2004. She joined the Military as a civilian nurse in 1988 and in June 2003 militarized and on completion of the required military courses became the SO1 Occupational Health Nursing Manager in March 2012 having acted in this capacity since 2006.

Email: vushvaby1@lide.com