A review of pre-employment health screening of NHS staff
Description:... In the NHS, successful job applicants are routinely require to undergo pre-employment health screening (PEHS) before their post is confirmed though there is poor agreement on why this is done or what it achieves. To address these uncertainties, NHS Plus commission a Delphi study on the purpose of PEHS and a systematic review of the evidence for its effectiveness. I this report, the two studies and their findings, the current situation with PEHS in the NHS in England and the legislation and national guidance underpinning current activity are described. The economic and ethical issues and the argument for change are also discussed, and recommendations are made for the future. Recommendations made included: that national guidance on PEHS within the NHS should be updated; only jobs with explicit criteria should result in PEHS; the purpose of any health screening applied must be stated explicitly; all jobs should be risk assessed and exposures identified before the position is advertised; all health screening must comply with current legislation; all health screen should take place after confirmation of appointment; infection control processes should comply with relevant national guidance; all new staff should receive an invitation to discuss with the Occupational Health Department any concerns; where there is a specific concern about the health of a new employee, a detailed referral to OH should be made
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