Letter from CDS: Concerning the Occupational Health Program

22 Nov 2018

 

Mr. Gregory Lick
Ombudsman
100, rue Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, ON K1P 5M1

Dear Mr. Lick,

Below you will find the response to the letter sent by your predecessor regarding Preventive Medicine Technician (PMed Tech) staffing and workplace health inspections.

CF Health Services (CF H Svcs) and the PMed occupation have implemented changes in the execution and management of the Occupational Health Program that are aimed at addressing immediate PMed Tech staffing issues. Further to this, the PMed occupation, with CF H Svcs Group oversight and guidance, are evaluating proposals that would satisfy the future staffing needs of the occupation and its ability to maintain and sustain PMed support to CF H Svcs programs. Moreover, the Surgeon General/Commander CF H Svcs Group has also issued direction for the prioritization of workplace health inspections to achieve 100% regulatory compliance for workplace health inspections.

To address higher rates of attrition within PMed, an additional training session was requested to qualify 12 PMed Techs to the 6A Qualification Level (QL). This training was accomplished between March and July of this year.

In addition to uniformed staffing of PMed offices, there are currently seven civilian employees employed within PMed offices across the country. These employees are appropriately qualified to augment and support the Occupational Health Program at the bases/wings where they have been hired. There are an additional six civilian positions that have been established, two have been filed and the four others have begun the hiring process.

Further to those actions, there are a number of initiatives and proposals currently under development that would aim to further relieve pressures being experienced within the PMed occupation and its programs. These include:

a.       Proposal for increasing the number of uniformed PMed techs to meet growing demands in support of CAF Operations and CF H Svcs programs;

b.      Updating workplace inspection procedures and reporting administration, already underway, will streamline inspection activities and decrease the time required to complete workplace health inspections;

c.       Making changes to the occupational entry requirements and training qualifications for PMed Techs. This will generate broader interest for the PMed occupation and lend to greater attraction and retention of techs; and

d.      Obtaining funding to develop an information management system that can be used to document, store, query and track PMed program data. This will facilitate a real-time program monitoring capability that could be used to report on current program status and to more efficiently direct efforts in program support.

In closing, I thank you for your continued interest and trust that I have addressed your concerns.

Sincerely,

 

J.H Vance
General

 

c.c Deputy Minister

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