THE SUDBURY CLINIC PROVIDES FIVE TYPES OF SERVICES:

 

1	Medical diagnostic review service for workers who may have work-related health problems
2	A group service for joint health and safety committees and groups to deal with workplace conditions that affect more than one worker
3	An inquiry service to answer questions about exposures and possible workplace hazards
4	An outreach and education service to make people aware of health and safety issues
5	A research service to investigate and report on illnesses and injuries to improve working conditions

A medical diagnostic service for workers who may have work related health problems

An OHCOW nurse will take detailed notes on your work history, your health and what you have been exposed to at work. The nurse will share this information with the OHCOW doctor, who will then examine you and ask you more questions.

The whole OHCOW team will discuss whether your workplace caused your health problem. They will recommend ways to prevent further problems. If you need to be treated, the OHCOW doctor will send you to your family doctor or other treating physician.

Your medical information is confidential. However, if you give your consent, this information will be shared with the joint health and safety committee at your workplace or with others who are helping with your case. This may help prevent your co-workers from getting sick or injured. It will also help identify whether others are already suffering from the same problem as you clinics.

A group service for joint health and safety committees and groups of workers

The OHCOW team can do a walkthrough tour of the workplace. They will point out any health and safety problems and present them to the joint health and safety committee. They can also suggest that someone investigate the problems further.

During a walkthrough tour, the OHCOW occupational hygienist will

Watch how the work is done
Question workers about their symptoms
Take limited measurements (for example, noise and air flow)
Make recommendations to improve workplace conditions

The occupational hygienist will help you understand occupational hygiene sampling reports. They can also help you design sampling strategies.

During a walkthrough tour, an OHCOW ergonomist will

Watch how the work is done
Interview workers to understand their concerns and their discomfort
Measure the dimensions, forces, repetitions and postures of a workstation
Make recommendations to improve conditions

In some cases, doctors and nurses can do medical exams on several people from one workplace. They will look for a connection between the health problems and the workplace conditions.

OHCOW staff can work with the joint health and safety committee to help it understand very technical reports it must deal with. The OHCOW team can also design health questionnaires and administer surveys.

An inquiry service to answer workplace health and safety questions

OHCOW staff will answer your questions about workplace health and safety issues. We will give you information about

The substances you work with
Common diseases in your industry
Ways to reduce or eliminate the hazards you face
The latest medical and scientific articles

The OHCOW team can do a walkthrough tour of the workplace. They will point out any health and safety problems and present them to the joint health and safety committee. They can also suggest that someone investigate the problems further.

An outreach and education service to make people aware of health and safety issues

OHCOW staff will speak to your group about health and safety issues. Our goal is to make you aware of health hazards in your workplace so you can avoid illness or injury. We also want to make you aware of all of OHCOW's services in case you need them. Sometimes we work together with community groups or with other health and safety groups to promote safe workplaces. OHCOW also helps to educate doctors, medical students, nurses and nursing students so they are more aware of workplace health issues.

OHCOW offers fact sheets about many different substances, hazards and diseases. See our publications for more information.

A research service to investigate and report on illnesses and injuries

OHCOW has been involved in research studies on several different topics. We collect statistics on different diseases and on the substances workers are exposed to that may cause these diseases. We will use our extensive library and search for the latest scientific literature on your question. We will use this information to write a report that compares your workplace situation to that of other workers we have studied.

OHCOW now has a Cluster Registry of Occupational Disease and Reproductive Hazards. A cluster is a group of health events (for example, cancer cases, miscarriages) which take place

At the same workplace or
Among workers doing the same job or
Among workers exposed to similar hazards

The registry is a computerized list of clusters reported to OHCOW that have happened in different places and among different groups of workers. The registry will allow OHCOW with its clinics across the province to collect and store this information. If we know about small clusters of disease, we can see where we should do more research and where we can suggest changes to the workplace. This can eliminate hazards and save lives.