Try-before-you-buy pilot health scheme

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 14

Try-before-you-buy pilot health scheme

A “try before you buy" pilot scheme by the Health Department aims to encourage medium-sized industries to employ part-time nurses. An occupational health nurse, Mrs Sue Greenstreet, recently started weekly clinics for workers in " three Onehunga factories. “If I can prove statistically that the clinics are worthwhile and management can see the benefits, they will probably employ another nurse to continue what I’ve started,” she says. Even at this early stage, absenteeism is declining in the factories and the workers’ general health is improving. This is a new step in occupational health by the department. Previously nurses just monitored chrome, isocyanate, lead and asbestos workers. Departmental preventive health care covers children until they leave school and later may catch up with them when they are elderly, and so occupational health care is seen as expanding to fill this gap. “I surveyed 100 workers a couple of years ago. Of these 79 had medical problems, but only 29 had mentioned them to their doctors,” Mrs Greenstreet says. “The others either didn't notice their condition, felt it was trivial, didn’t have the time to go to the doctor, or were too shy to discuss their problems."

When Mrs Greenstreet begins her clinics she gives each worker a health interview and, for example, if they have borderline high blood pressure, she will monitor them weekly in case they need to go to their doctor. “I sometimes feel I’m creating trade for general practitioners, and two have written thanking me for getting their patients back to them.” The problems she copes with are as diverse as a sore gum, missed periods, diabetes, obesity and scabies. “One worker in a woollen mill is allergic to wool, but with the present unemployment problems you can’t just tell her to get another job,” says Mrs Greenstreet. “Instead, I see her weekly and teach her how to protect and look after her skin.” This free trial offer of her services to factories employing over 200 people is a spinoff of another pilot scheme. Late last year Mrs Greenstreet began the Group Occupational Health Service where she introduced herself to every small industry in Onehunga, checked the worker’s health and gave advice on any hazards. However, by March this year she had visited all the industries and felt this service was unnecessary. “The department had

thought this area of occupational health had been overlooked. but I found after the initial visit that health standards were fine and the accident rate lower than anticipated. ' “I felt like I was canvassing for work and on followup visits the people would ask me ‘what can we do for you today?’, instead of me

asking ‘what can I do for you?' “I then decided to concentrate on medium-sized industries which didn’t, employ their own nurse.” Mrs Greenstreet savs. But the small factories are not being overlooked. They now know where she is and her services are still available when required.