Whilst I am not saying Wikepdia is accurate it was the only place today that I could actually copy the information on ‘serial sevens’ from. If the impairment is concentration then I think spelling ‘world’ backwards may be the easiest to administer.

Serial sevens is counting backwards from 100 (or a randomly generated number) by subtracting seven. It is in common use in the mini-mental state examination as a test of cognitive impairment.

The police have a set of impairment tools they use with people they suspect of drinking.

In the end though, what are you trying to prove or avoid… My concern is that you’d have no ‘before’ for comparison or could misinterpret the result. Surely the pwrson needs to be the one that says I am impaired but I guess in a court the ‘ but he said he was ok’ defence might not work….

Serial sevens, counting down from one hundred by sevens, is a clinical test used to test mental function; for example, to help assess mental status after possible head injury or in suspected cases of dementia. This well-known test, in active documented use since at least 1944,^[1] was adopted as part of the mini-mental state examination. The test is also used in determining when a patient is becoming unconscious under anaesthetic, for example prior to major dental surgery.

On its own, the inability to perform 'serial sevens' is not diagnostic of any particular disorder or impairment, but is generally used as a quick and easy test of concentration and memory in any number of situations where clinicians suspect that these cognitive functions might be affected.

Similar tests include serial threes where the counting downwards is done by threes, reciting the months of the year in reverse order, or spelling 'world' backwards.

A study involving uninjured high school athletes concluded that the serial sevens test is not appropriate when testing for concussion because it lacks specificity; the pass rate is too low to give any meaningful result. The ability to recite the months in reverse order was thought to be a more effective measure because the pass rate was higher for that test in uninjured athletes.^[2]

Please be advised that all e-mail communication relevant to assisting in the management of the OH process will be printed and entered into the individual's OH file or copied and added as an electronic note on their electronic OH record. This may therefore be disclosed under the Data Protection Act (1998).

From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carr Barnes
Sent: 17 May 2013 12:05
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] Impairment testing in the workplace

Hi All

Frequently in my work history I got calls from managers who were concerned about an employee's mental competence/concentration in the work place due to ? "heavy night out the night before" etc. Often the manager was requesting D&A testing and I would have to advise them to consult their D&A policy and in the interim they would have to make a decision in conjunction with safety and HR teams on whether the employee should be removed from the work area of concern.

The problem I frequently was presented with ... and unfortunately had no real answer for (nor could I find one from esteemed colleagues in house) was "what is evidence of impairment and how do I (the manager) test for it".

In doing some reading spurred by Dr. Balalla's recent enquiry I came acrros this in the IOSH guidance on D&A testing and thought I would share as it seems to offer practical on the spot tests that could be incorporated into policy/procedures

Impairment testing

Organisations should also consider whether chemical tests are always the best choice. As well as being expensive (because they should be administered by specialists) the tests only look for certain chemicals. One alternative is impairment testing, in which the skills are assessed rather than the drugs. Does the person have the reaction time, concentration and judgment to carry out a given safety-critical task? These tests will pick up impairments due to prescription or over-the-counter medicine, lack of sleep, or illness, as well as those caused by drugs or alcohol. From a risk assessment point of view such testing can be more effective – you want to screen out workers who are not fit to carry out a job safely, whether they are at fault or not.

In New Zealand the police carry out a ‘compulsory impairment test’ (CIT) if they have good cause to suspect a driver has consumed a drug. There are three tests used:

· walk and turn – the driver has to walk heel-to-toe along a straight line, turn around and walk back

· one leg stand – the driver has to stand with one leg raised and count backwards from 1030 to 1000

· pupil size and responsiveness – the driver has to focus on an object in front of their face and track its movement.

Further details of these tests and the signs of impairment for each one are detailed here.

Other types of impairment testing in the workplace are more scientific, for example using computer based tests of mental alertness orequipment to measure eye tracking or the response of the eyes to light.

Research on the effectiveness of impairment testing in the workplace is available. This research concludes that although impairment testing is not as widely used as chemical testing, where it has been used it receives greater acceptance from employees and has a greater effect on reducing accidents, partly because it also picks up on impairments due to tiredness, which causes far more accidents than impairments due to drugs.

Carr

******************************** Please remove this footer before replying.

OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html

CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH