OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Health Canada is the federal department responsible for helping the people of Canada maintain and improve their health. Health Canada is committed to improving the lives of all of Canada’s people and to making this country's population among the healthiest in the world as measured by longevity, lifestyle and effective use of the public health care system.

The Public Service Occupational Health Program (PSOHP) has a continuing requirement for external Contractors to supplement the work of the Occupational Health Medical Officers (OHMO) in the provision of health evaluations to federal government public servants. The PSOHP is a National Program with regional offices for service delivery. Health Canada (HC) is seeking the service of a supplier in each of the following health categories below:

(a) Laboratory (Laboratory Technician and Technologists)

(b) Hearing Clinic (Hearing Technician)

(c) Occupational Health (General or Nurse Practitioner)

(d) Neuropsychology (Neuropsychologist)

(e) Psychiatry (Psychiatrist)

(f) Psychology (Psychologist)

Health Canada (HC) requires the service of the supplier in each the medical specialty categories above to provide the following services, but not limited to:

(a) Occupational Health Examinations

(b) Fitness to work Examinations

(c) Laboratory tests (e.g. blood and urine)

(d) Hearing tests

(e) Vaccine Administration

Objectives of the Requirement

PSOHP conducts health evaluations and assessments for federal employees to help assess the employee’s ability or fitness to perform their work. In order to collect the information required to conduct the health evaluation, the employee/dependent is examined by either their treating physician, a PSOHP designated physician or an OHMO. A PSOHP OHMO always does the final assessment. With the employee’s/dependent’s consent an OHMO may contact the employee’s/dependent’s treating physician or specialist for information, and/or the OHMO may refer the employee/dependent to an Occupational Health Professional to conduct the health evaluation and/or conducting medical tests.

The decision as to which Occupational Health Professional is selected is made by the OHMO on a case by case basis and is related to:

(a) the type of evaluation that is required;

(b) the presenting medical condition;

(c) the complexity of the case;

(d) the medical expertise required;

(e) the language requirements of the recipient;

(f) the location of the work;

(g) the urgency of the requirement and the requirement for medical tests.

Requests for the Occupational Health Professional to perform a health evaluation or to conduct medical tests may come from PSOHP or directly from a client department. Requests for the Occupational Health Professional to perform a Fitness to work evaluation may come from PSOHP but NOT directly from a client department.

Multiple Occupational Health Professionals are required as health evaluations are conducted across Canada and often need to be completed within relatively short time frames. The Occupational Health Professional will provide occupational health services, which include examining the employee and/or conducting appropriate medical tests, and will submit as a deliverable to PSOHP a report. The PSOHP OHMO will then review the contractor’s report and medical test result(s) and provide their recommendations to the employing department.

There are four (4) types of health evaluations conducted by OHMOs for which a referral to a Physician for an evaluation may be required:

(a) Pre-placement Evaluation: A pre-placement health evaluation is conducted when an individual is to be employed in a specific job that has an inherent element of risk to health and safety and/or for which certain occupational health and physical requirements need to be met.

(b) Periodic Evaluation: Periodic health evaluations are follow-up evaluations that are conducted on a schedule of every one to five years. The schedule is determined by a risk assessment and is based on factors such as a hazard exposure and the employee’s age. The purpose is to determine if employees: continue to meet the occupational health requirements of their position; are being negatively affected by their work; and/or can continue working under the same work conditions without detriment to their health and safety or to that of others.

(c) Fitness to Work Evaluation (FTWE): Fitness to work evaluations are provided at the request of the employer to determine if an employee is medically fit to safely and effectively perform the tasks of a specific job. The evaluations are carried out with the employee's consent and with input from the treating health professional, if applicable. The evaluations are to assess the employee's health capability to carry out, or continue to carry out, the duties of the position and, where applicable, to identify the employee’s medical limitations/restrictions.

(d) Posting-related Evaluation Assignment: Posting related health evaluations are conducted for employees and their dependents assigned to, between and from foreign posts. The purpose of these health evaluations is to optimally prepare employees and their dependents for a healthy assignment by providing advice on the level of medical services at post and on conditions at post which could affect their health, as well as advising on individual health issues which should be resolved prior to departure. This includes temporary duty and posting-related Afghanistan evaluations.