Student B. Control assistant. Use these questions to help you.

1. What number are you calling from?

2. Can you tell me what’s happened?

3. What’s your name? Could you spell it?

4. Are you at the scene of the accident?

5. Where exactly are you?

6. Did you see what happened?

7. Is anybody hurt?

8. What’s their condition?

9. Give the caller some instructions what to do until the ambulance arrives.

TEXT D

Exercise 27. You are going to read the text about safety critical work. But first, read the word list below and sort them into the following categories. The Unknown Words category is only for terms you have no idea about. Then, use a certain number of the terms to create a “gist statement” that summarizes what you predict the text will be about. Finally, complete the “To Discover” section at the end, noting specific questions that have arisen as a result of identifying unknown words or considering the gist statement.

Word List
Drowsiness	Impaired awareness	Occupational health doctor
Loss of consciousness	Affect concentration	Side effects
General report	Restrictions	To relate problems to someone
Fit for work	Incapacity
To carry out testing	Restricted mobility

Categories
Health conditions	Medical assessment	Medication
Drugs and Alcohol	Recommendation	Unknown words

Gist statement
To Discover

Exercise 28. Read the text. Three sentences have been removed from it. Choose from the sentences A-D the one which fits each gap (1-3). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A. This is the only information that an employer needs to ensure an appropriate match of worker to job.

B. In some cases, it may be necessary for a worker to do other tasks until the nature and extent of side effects have been established, and are properly controlled.

C. Workers who experience stress, anxiety or depression are unlikely to perform effectively and if stress levels are not corrected it can lead to serious problems.

D. These jobs are called “safety critical” and the people who do them are “safety-critical workers”.

SAFETY CRITICAL WORK

Some jobs in the construction industry involve activities that can place workers at risk, unless the person has full, unimpaired control of their physical and mental capabilities. (1)____.

In particular, your employer will need to focus on health conditions that may involve:

• sudden loss of consciousness (e.g. epilepsy, some heart conditions, diabetes (particularly insulin dependent diabetes));

• impaired awareness or concentration;

• sudden incapacity;

• impaired balance or coordination;

• restricted mobility;

• impaired vision or hearing.

Before someone starts safety-critical work, it is good practice for the employer to agree what health checks and/or medical examination are required, and record the agreement. It is important to be clear which aspects of fitness are relevant to the safety-critical work, and to specify the required level.

Example: Working at Height

Your employer needs to be sure that you:

• can climb the ladder or platform;

• can see well enough (this might mean making sure you use prescription lenses);

• do not suffer from a condition which might cause you to lose consciousness or reduce your ability to concentrate.

Medical assessment

Workers who carry out safety-critical tasks need a full medical assessment. Decisions on fitness for work can only be taken by a competent occupational health doctor.

Detailed medical assessments are confidential to the worker and the occupational health practitioner or general practitioner. However, an employer can reasonably expect the occupational health practitioner to provide a general report about individual fitness in terms of:

• fit for work;

• fit for work with restrictions;

• temporarily does not meet the fitness standard;

• doesn’t meet the fitness for work to carry out specific jobs.

(2)____.

Medication

Some medication can cause drowsiness and affect concentration. All safety critical workers should be encouraged to ask their general practitioner or pharmacist about the possible side effects of medication. (3)____.

Drugs and alcohol

You should not do construction work if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol as you or someone else could suffer serious injury or death, but drug and alcohol testing is a complex area and if your employer decides to carry out testing, they will need to consult with health and safety representatives and employees about the companies policy, position and procedures.

What you should do

If you think that you are suffering from any of the health and safety issues mentioned speak to your supervisor, manager or a suitable person than you can relate your problems to, don’t suffer in silence.

Exercise 29. Return to Ex. 27 and compare your answers with the text. Were your predictions right?