Occupational health or workers health is the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations by

• Preventing departures from ill health
• Controlling work risks
• Protecting workers from work risks
• Adaptation of work to people, and people to their jobs

Very simply, occupational health is about measuring and managing the effects of work on a person’s health and of a person’s health on their ability to work. It is focused on the interaction between work and health, and health and work.

Occupational health can trace its roots back as far as Ancient Greece when Hippocrates, a Greek physician and the father of medicine (the Hippocratic oath) observed lead poisoning among miners. Pliny the Elder, a Roman Senator, was the first to recommend that miners should use respiratory protection (using an animal bladder). Bernardino Ramazzini, an Italian physician known as the father of occupational medicine, has published ‘De Morbis Artificum Diatriba’ (‘Diseases of Workers’) about occupational diseases.

Why should we have a National Programme on Occupational health ?

• Poor working conditions have the potential to affect health and safety of workers. Unhealthy or unsafe working conditions can be found anywhere, whether the workplace is indoors or outdoors. Poor working conditions can affect the environment the workers live in. This means that workers’, their families, other people in the community, and the physical environment around the workplace, can all be at risk from exposure to workplace hazards.
• We spend a significant amount of time at work. A worker spends more than two thirds of his non sleeping time for work related activities per day on average. A person works throughout his productive age and one can imagine the influence of work environments on health of workers.
• Workers are in the productive age group. They contribute immensely to the sustainable development of a country therefore they need to be healthy physically as well as mentally.
• Occupational injuries, accidents, diseases are very costly. It causes productivity losses significantly.
• When workers fall ill, it will affect the wellbeing of workers, employers, families, communities and countries at large
• Most of the adverse health outcomes of workers can be prevented by improving occupational health services

At the national level, Occupational health unit of the Directorate of Environmental and Occupational Health is the central organization of the Ministry of Health responsible for planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the National Occupational Health Programme of the Ministry of Health within the country.

At Provincial level, Provincial Director of Health Services (PDHS) is the departmental head and is assisted by Regional Directors of Health Services (RDHS) who are the regional (district) heads of department in each of the districts. The RDHS is supported by a team of technical officers and others. Medical Officer (Environmental and Occupational Health), Regional Epidemiologist (RE), Divisional Supervising Public Health Inspector take a lead role in carrying out occupational health work at district level. Currently three MO (E&OH) are attached to Gampaha, Galle and Hambantota RDHS areas.

Within a region (district) services are provided through a network of medical institutions and Health Units. Medical Officer of Health area is the smallest Health unit which is managed by Medical Officer of Health (MOH) and each district comprises of seven to twenty Health Divisions (7-20).

The MOH is supported by a team of public health personnel comprising of Supervising Public Health Inspectors (SPHI) and Public Health Inspectors in carrying out occupational health work.

The Public Health Inspector (PHI) is the “front line” health worker providing Preventive and promotive occupational health services to all workers in all occupations within his range. The PHI is given a well-demarcated area having a population ranging from about 10000 to 15000. The occupational health package consists of the following major areas of work.

• Environmental monitoring to identify hazards in the work environment including waste disposal issues at work places
• Improving welfare facilities at work places
• Improving workers health
• Health promotion at workplaces

Additionally curative and rehabilitative health services are provided for workers through the government healthcare institutions island wide.