How does it work?
Practical questions on what services to choose and setting up an account
How do I set up an account?
How soon are the results of drug and alcohol tests available?
How will drug and alcohol results be communicated to me?
Can an individual appeal against the results of their drug or alcohol test?
General questions about drug and alcohol services
How much of an issue is drug and alcohol abuse?
Why are so many organisations setting up drug and alcohol procedures?
I'm not sure which services I need - can BUPA Wellness help?
Are there any limitations with drug and alcohol testing?
Why choose BUPA Wellness?
Specific questions about drug and alcohol services and how they work
I'm planning to implement a drug and alcohol policy. What steps do I need to take?
Does the policy need to include all types of screening?
What substances should I test for?
How do you measure alcohol?
What alcohol cut off should I have?
What should I do during the policy consultation period?
How should I launch the policy internally?
What are the key criteria that need to be included in a drug and alcohol policy?
How does the process for "for cause" testing work?
What testing methodologies do you use?
Are the results legally defensible?
Practical questions about our facilities and booking arrangements
How long will the screening take?
What happens if a donor refuses?
Does a manager or witness need to be present?
Can you test at a hospital?
What do I do following an incident or if I think someone may be under the influence of drink / drugs?
What facilities are required for screening?
How much notice do I need to give for an on site booking which isn't "for cause"?
Case studies
Read some examples of how Wellness drug and alcohol services can help your business.
Next steps
Find out next steps in using BUPA Wellness drug and alcohol services.
Practical questions on what services to choose and setting up an account
How do I set up an account?
- Call BUPA Wellness on 0845 300 8220 or contact us.
- Describe which screening services you are interested in.
- You will be asked about your company ie, name, address, contact numbers, size of business, nature of business, reasons for screening..
- You will be asked to send a copy of your drug and alcohol policy if you have one. Alternatively our policy development team can assist with this. We are unable to provide screening services unless you have a policy for dealing with the results..
- Once the drug and alcohol policy is approved against minimum criteria, we will send you an agreement along with terms and conditions for signing..
How soon are the results of drug and alcohol tests available?
Negative results are available the next working day, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Samples requiring further analysis may take a further seven working days.
All positive laboratory findings are scrutinised by a doctor with specific training in this field. This is to ensure that an individual with legitimate medical need for a substance is not wrongly categorised as a drug abuser. This may involve the doctor interviewing the donor. BUPA Wellness includes this service for all results though some providers may make an additional charge.
How will drug and alcohol results be communicated to me?
Negative results will be issued in writing the next working day.
Positive results will be phoned through to the nominated authorised contact followed by a written report. The donor will also receive a written report to their home address at the same time as the employer.
Can an individual appeal against the results of their drug or alcohol test?
Yes. An information pack is sent to the donor explaining that their 'B' sample has remained intact at our laboratory and can be independently tested at a lab or their choosing, according to a procedure that ensures the sample's integrity is maintained. The letter contains contact details for the BUPA drug and alcohol manager.
General questions about drug and alcohol services
How much of an issue is drug and alcohol abuse?
Alcohol consumption is rising the UK and with it the adverse social, psychological and physical consequences of alcohol abuse. Alcohol-related sickness absence alone is estimated to cost UK business at least £1.2bn a year. Heavy drinking is the third highest risk factor or ill-health, second only to tobacco and high blood pressure, responsible for more than 7 percent of disability and premature death within the European Union (Alcohol Concern).
Drug abuse overall is stable in the UK but abuse of class A drugs, such as cocaine is increasing. According of the British Crime Survey 2004-5 around one in three adults between 16 and 59 living in England and Wales admit to illegal drug use at some time, and over 11 percent say they have used drugs in the last year.
Why are so many organisations setting up drug and alcohol procedures?
- To comply with government legislation, including the Transport and Works Act 1992, the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974.
- To ensure the safety of other staff and members of the public.
- To avoid injury or damage to property.
- To minimise the expense of recruiting and training replacements for employees with drug or alcohol problems.
- To reduce absenteeism, accidents, theft and lost productivity.
- To help qualify for lower insurance premiums.
- To demonstrate that you care for your employees' welfare and have chosen to work with a recognised professional organisation.
I'm not sure which services I need - can BUPA Wellness help?
BUPA Wellness can help you arrange the level of screening that's exactly right for your business. You may need all three kinds of testing, or just one or two. You may prefer regular visits, or perhaps you'll need access to a 24-hour emergency call-out option. We'll listen thoughtfully to your reasons for installing a screening process, and respect your budgetary, cultural and recruitment requirements. As your trusted advisor we will then give you honest, informed advice, and arrange the protection your company needs. Together, we'll create a unique package to protect your company, your workforce and your customers.
Are there any limitations with drug and alcohol testing?
As a leading UK provider of drug and alcohol screening throughout the UK, we offer a highly flexible range of services to meet your organisation's recruitment, random testing or incident-related needs.
However, it is important to note that screening will only identify recent drug use. It cannot confirm intoxication, addition or fitness for work.
Why choose BUPA Wellness?
Working with a respected healthcare company such as BUPA Wellness enables the employer to feel confident in the discretion and quality of the care its employees will receive through their employer.
BUPA Wellness has extensive experience in helping organisations to develop manageable and realistic drug and alcohol policies. Many people with dependency problems have complex psychological and social issues as well as physical problems. Successful treatment requires a multi-disciplinary approach with the shared aim of restoring the individual to full function in work and beyond. We believe in a three-tiered approach to tackling the problem within the workplace: policy development and employee education, support and rehabilitation for those with problems, screening as a deterrent.
BUPA Wellness is in a position to offer the individual a confidential assessment of the problem, whilst providing the employer with advice on fitness for work and the individual's motivation, engagement and progress with the treatment plan. Working with the individual's GP/NHS/voluntary agencies we can recognise treatment needs and ensure appropriate treatment is available at the most opportune time. When the individual is fit to rehabilitate to work our aim is to make the multidisciplinary approach a reality and ensure all those involved are aware of the plan for the restoration of work ability and employment retention.
Specific questions about drug and alcohol services and how they work
I'm planning to implement a drug and alcohol policy. What steps do I need to take?
- Establish a drug and alcohol policy.
Provide information to staff at induction on:
- the effects of drugs and alcohol on performance
- factors that lead to dependency on drugs or alcohol
- what can be done to prevent them from inadvertently breaching the drugs and alcohol policy
Ensure supervisors/managers:
- understand their responsibilities under the policy
- are able to recognise impaired workplace performance or behaviour likely to be caused by the misuse of substances
- understand process for identifying effects of medication that could affect safety
- are able to encourage persons to ask for advice and help in respect of problems arising
Does the policy need to include all types of screening?
No, each company has different needs. You may decide that you only want to screen for specific circumstances ie, For Cause.
What substances should I test for?
BUPA have a standard panel of substances which it recommends in line with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This panel is also approved by Network Rail for those clients needing to comply with Railway Group Standards.
The substances are amphetamines (including ecstasy), barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabis, cocaine, opiates, methadone and propoxyphene.
The current drug cut-offs offered by BUPA have been chosen to satisfy current best practice in the industry and are based on the relevant National, European and Worldwide guidelines and recommendations.
If a company requests for any other substances instead of the above, we would explore with them the justification for them needing this test, based on their industry and talk with our toxicologists for advice.
Our toxicologists will need to confirm that firstly there is such a test available, and any additional costs or specific handling issues we need to be aware of.
How do you measure alcohol?
We use breathalysers that provide an accurate snapshot in time. The machine displays the decimal figure measurement and prints a statement to that effect with a time and date stamp.
What alcohol cut off should I have?
The current legal limit from the Road Traffic Act is 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood.
Employers may want to be more stringent than this, especially in a safety critical environment. For example, the rail industry has set its alcohol cut off for a positive result as more than 29 mg / 100ml blood or equivalent.
What should I do during the policy consultation period?
You'll need to:
- update employee contracts with signed receipt of acceptance
- offer an amnesty period for staff to come forward for help/assistance
How should I launch the policy internally?
We suggest you give employees access to a policy document and that you launch the policy via different media including:
- employee briefing packs
- employee briefing sessions
- posters
- putting information on your intranet site
What are the key criteria that need to be included in a drug and alcohol policy?
Screening must be performed according to ethical principles and be legally defensible. We will not provide screening services unless the employer has a policy for dealing with the results.
Below are the recommended areas to consider when developing a policy. To satisfy our professional obligations we insist that as a minimum a policy includes those highlighted:
- purpose
- definitions ie who is covered by the policy
- policy
- objective
- responsibility of employees and contractors
- information what constitutes misuse of drug and alcohol
- restrictions and prohibitions on the consumption of alcohol, including what the alcohol cut-off rate is
- what drugs will be tested for
- discipline arrangements
- rehabilitation - information on help and support available to those with problems
- screening programme - circumstances under which drug and alcohol tests will take place
- arrangements for screening ("for cause", pre-employment, random etc)
- reporting arrangements for the use of prescribed and /or over the counter medication
- information to employees - on rights of appeal and confidentiality
- monitoring of the policy
- whether the policy covers the action that will be taken in the event of a positive result
How does the process for "for cause" testing work?
A BUPA collection officer will attend the workplace to collect a sample and perform a breath test. A client representative will accompany the donor.
Our network of collection officers covers the whole UK mainland. We operate a 24-hour call-out service and someone will usually be at your site within just two hours.
What testing methodology's do you use?
The usual screening medium is urine. This has the advantage of long experience in use but can be inconvenient to collect. Other media, such as oral fluid, offer ease of sample collection particularly in the workplace.
Hair testing is another possibility but is mostly used in forensic settings.
We are able to offer a range of sampling methods and are happy to advise our customers in detail on the relative merits of the different media.
We constantly review the way we test samples to ensure we keep up-to-date with new technologies. At the moment, laboratory-based urine testing provides the most accurate and reliable results for commonly used illegal drugs.
Are the results legally defensible?
Yes. Our findings are completely independent and unbiased and they are acceptable to the police and in court.
Ultimately a drug screening result may be challenged in the courts. In this respect, three features of our screening service are important.
- Chain of custody.
Sample collection, analysis and reporting is performed under a carefully designed procedure to ensure a sample is fully traceable back to the donor and could not have been tampered with en-route to the laboratory.
- Analysis is performed using internationally agreed methods in a reputable laboratory holding UKAS accreditation for drug screening analysis and participating in an external quality assurance scheme.
- Medical review of results.
All positive laboratory findings are scrutinised by a doctor with specific training in this field. This is to ensure that an individual with legitimate medical need for a substance is not wrongly categorised as a drug abuser. This may involve the doctor interviewing the donor. BUPA Wellness includes this service for all results though some providers may make an additional charge.
Practical questions about our facilities and booking arrangements
How long will the screening take?
An average appointment takes between 20 - 30 minutes for urine sample collection and breath test. These timings could increase if the donor is unable to provide a sample straight away, and if the toilet facilities are located a long way from the confidential work area at your site.
What happens if a donor refuses?
A nominated authorised representative from your company will be informed and the donor will be asked to sign a declaration of refusal. You should then follow the guidelines from your policy on any further action to take in this event.
Does a manager or witness need to be present?
When screening on your site, we ask that the authorised representative is available to answer any questions from the donor regarding the reason to test, to deal with any behavioural issues, or in the event of a positive breath test.
Can you test at a hospital?
If a donor has been taken to a hospital, or is being attended to by a doctor, the collection officer can attend the hospital but they must be accompanied by a management representative who will liaise with the hospital personnel. Under no circumstances will testing be carried out without the consent of the medical practitioner in charge of the patient.
What do I do following an incident or if I think someone may be under the influence of drink / drugs?
You will be given a 24 hour freephone number to initial a "for cause" call out.
The operator will ask:
- the name of your business
- your name and designation
- a telephone number where you can be contacted
- the telephone number and name of the contact on site
- the full address and postcode of the site to which you wish the collection officer to report
Once you have provided the above information you will be issued with a case reference number.
What facilities are required for screening?
The collection officer will require (if possible) access to a room with an electric socket, two chairs and a desk. There should be no access to this room by any other party once the procedure has started.
For urine screening, there should be a toilet close by (this will be sealed off temporarily whilst the donor is producing a sample) with access to hand washing facilities.
How much notice do I need to give for an on site booking which isn't "for cause"?
We would prefer a minimum of two working days notice.
Case studies
The following case studies provide an example of where Wellness drug and alcohol services can help businesses
Alcohol abuse in a train driver
A train driver has been drinking heavily over a period of time. He manages to avoid attending work under the influence and appears to perform well, but one day is reported for passing a red light. When the incident is investigated it appears his home life has been falling apart for some time due to his alcohol abuse and this had resulted in the lack of concentration at work.
Alcohol abuse in an engineer
A specialist heating and ventilation engineer has a chronic alcohol problem resulting in persistent absence, and regular late arrival to work. His managers have been reluctant to tackle his behaviour, as he would be difficult to replace because of his unique skills. Ultimately the business is suffering as it is not delivering to agreed service levels.
Illegal drug abuse in a non-safety critical role
The Head of IT in a publishing house suffers two bereavements in a year - her father and sister. She becomes very depressed and begins to take drugs as a prop. Her concentration suffers and she becomes less effective at work. Her colleagues know the problem but do not want to "grass up" their erstwhile respected boss. They cover up as best they can but the IT system goes down on many occasions. Her illness, therefore, affects much more than her own productivity.
Drug or alcohol abuse can affect the whole focus of a person's life and work performance can noticeably suffer. We believe therefore that is a good business case to go further and incorporate into company policy measures to support employees through counselling and rehabilitation.
A company policy, properly implemented may have dealt with these problems "upstream" and helped these employees back into a position of commitment, efficiency and productivity.
Next steps
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