Dear all,
I've said before that we should not be scared of drug and/ or alcohol
testing as long as there is a clear policy and procedure and ethical and
practical obstacles can be overcome. It is worth noting that it really
does not have to be a nursing role as it is only a technical role rather
than one that requires NMC registration. In practical terms however it
is a role that I've performed for one particular client without
difficulty.
I would be concerned about being asked to take a sample from someone for
whom your primary duty of care is in relation to treatment rather than
enforcement of a policy. Of course for someone requiring nothing ore
than a plaster it would not be too much of an issue but something more
serious I would feel uncomfortable about.
There arew many sources of ethical advice some written ie the FOM
guidelines, a useful chapter in Practical Ethics in Occupational Health
by Ewan B. Macdonald, Peter Westerholm, Tore Nilstun, and John Ovretveit
among others and you could also seek advice from RCN (whilst its still
available)
Good luck
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of julian baldock RGN DipOHN
Sent: 06 March 2008 11:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] drug and alcohol testing
Good morning, I am just after some opinions on drug and alcohol testing.
Our American corporate parent company have instructed that all employees
who are involved in a works accident will require to have a drug and
alcohol test. I have no issue with the performance of the test as I am
experienced in chain of custody collections etc, what I do have
reservations about are any ethical considerations. eg I will be treating
the injured party firstly and where apprpopriate will thenj have to
undertake a drug and alcohol test on them. Obviously if the inury is
severe then they will probably have gone to hospital and the test will
not be undertaken. The treatment of the employee obviously comes first.
The company have also said that a refusal to test will be treated as a
positive test result. The company have also said that positive results
will not necessarily mean disciplinary action will follow but rather
that apprpopriate counselling/ help may be offered.
I wil be interested in any opinions.
regards
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