New ISO Standards- New tool to make audits simpler and less tedious!

The recent alignment of the different ISO standards into the new 10 point format for quality (9001), health & safety (45001) and the environment (14001) is welcome news for auditors and others charged with implementing and maintaining management systems.

Handbook

Over the past 15 years we have helped numerous organisations in Europe and the Middle East achieve various ISO certifications. We believe and promote that keeping things simple, while not usually easy, is always the best approach. We developed a handbook which explains how to implement and maintain a H&S management system and this is used by students at Diploma and Masters level to learn the skills required for this type of work.

Relaunch

We have just re-launched our mai™ Audit module to make sure that our clients have the best tools available to help them manage risk better. Our audit management software makes auditing and inspections much easier. The feedback for the new module has been great and we are excited to let organisations know that the tool can make compliance much easier.

Offer

To celebrate we would like to share with you the chapter in the handbook on how to manage audits effectively. This includes templates to help you get your auditing process up and running quickly and working smoother.

The mai™ module is a tool that can automate this process for you and comes with different standards pre-loaded as required and can also be used for managing EHS inspections. Click here to see some information about the module or contact us to request a demo, trial or to purchase the software.

Email: info@ehasoft.com

USA: 312 646 3741

UK: +44 800 802 1092

IRELAND: +353 21 5436034

www.ehasoft.com

Flu update – Week 7, 2016

Update by Dr J Gallagher, Employment Health Advisors (EHA):

Influenza activity in Ireland was at moderate to high levels during week 7 2016 (week ending February 21, 2016).

Influenza A(H1)pdm09 is the predominant virus circulating. Reports of hospitalisations/ICU admissions associated with influenza and influenza outbreaks remain elevated.

It is recommended that antivirals be considered for the treatment and prevention of influenza in high risk groups.  Influenza-like illness rates remained above the Irish baseline ILI threshold (18 per 100,000 population).

Influenza A(H1)pdm09 is the predominant virus circulating; co-circulating with influenza B. All influenza A(H1)pdm09 and A(H3) viruses characterised in Ireland this season, belong to genetic groups that are antigenically similar to the strains recommended for inclusion in the 2015/2016 trivalent influenza vaccines.

Influenza B viruses characterised this season in Ireland, belong to the B/Victoria lineage, these viruses are not present in the 2015/2016 trivalent vaccine used in Ireland. Trivalent vaccines are the most widely used influenza vaccines in Europe. Overall, influenza activity has continued to increase in Europe, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses predominating this season to date.

Flu update – Week 6, 2016

Update by Dr J Gallagher, Employment Health Advisors (EHA):

Most indicators of influenza activity in Ireland decreased during week 6 2016 (week ending February 14, 2016), with activity remaining at high levels.

Influenza A(H1)pdm09 is the predominant virus circulating. It is recommended that antivirals be considered for the treatment and prevention of influenza in high risk groups.   Influenza A(H1)pdm09 positivity remains high; influenza B positivity peaked during December 2015.

Increased positive detections of adenovirus were reported in week 6 2016. All influenza A(H1)pdm09 and A(H3) viruses characterised in Ireland this season, belong to genetic groups that are antigenically similar to the strains recommended for inclusion in the 2015/2016 trivalent influenza vaccines.

Influenza B viruses characterised this season in Ireland, belong to the B/Victoria lineage, these viruses are not present in the 2015/2016 trivalent vaccine used in Ireland. Trivalent vaccines are the most widely used influenza vaccines in Europe.

One influenza A(H1)pdm09 school outbreak in HSE-NE was notified to HPSC during week 6 2016.  Overall, influenza activity has continued to increase in Europe, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses predominating this season to date.

 

Flu update – Week 5, 2016

Update by Dr J Gallagher, Employment Health Advisors (EHA):

Most indicators of influenza activity in Ireland stabilised during week 5 2016 (week ending February 7, 2016), with activity remaining at high levels.

Influenza A(H1)pdm09 is the predominant virus circulating. Reports of hospitalisations/ICU admissions associated with influenza remain elevated. It is recommended that antivirals be considered for the treatment and prevention of influenza in high risk groups.

All influenza A(H1)pdm09 and A(H3) viruses characterised in Ireland this season, belong to genetic groups that are antigenically similar to the strains recommended for inclusion in the 2015/2016 trivalent influenza vaccines. Influenza B viruses characterised this season in Ireland, belong to the B/Victoria lineage, these viruses are not present in the 2015/2016 trivalent vaccine used in Ireland. Trivalent vaccines are the most widely used influenza vaccines in Europe. Five influenza A(H1)pdm09 outbreaks and four acute respiratory  outbreaks (associated with unknown pathogens) were notified to HPSC during week 5 2016.

International: Overall, influenza activity has continued to increase in Europe, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses predominating this season to date.

Flu update – Week 1, 2016

Update by Dr J Gallagher, Employment Health Advisors (EHA):

Influenza activity in Ireland increased in the community in recent weeks (week 1 2016). 

The most recent influenza surveillance data indicate that influenza-like illness (ILI) has increased in the community in recent weeks.

The influenza-like illness (ILI) rate during week 1 (week ending January 10^th 2016) was 48.5 per 100,000 population which is above the Irish baseline threshold of 18 per 100,000 (used to assess influenza activity during the 2015/2016 influenza season in Ireland) for the first time this season.

In addition, 77 confirmed influenza cases were reported as hospitalised with 13 confirmed influenza cases admitted to critical care units to date this season. Twelve outbreaks of acute respiratory infection have been reported to HPSC to date this season of which two were due to confirmed influenza. Influenza B and Influenza A (H1N1) pdm09 are co-circulating.

All indicators of influenza activity in Ireland were at low levels during week 44 2015. RSV and other seasonal respiratory virus positivity has increased over the last two weeks; in conjunction with increasing respiratory admissions reported from a network of sentinel hospitals.

The sentinel GP influenza-like illness (ILI) consultation rate was 3.7 per 100,000 population in week 44 2015, remaining low, and stable compared to the updated rate of 4.4 per 100,000 reported during week 43 2015. ILI rates remain below the Irish baseline ILI threshold (18 per 100,000 population) and at low levels in all ages groups.

The proportion of influenza-relared calls to GP Out-Of-Hours services was at low levels during week 44 2015.

One influenza A(H3) positive non-setinel specimen was detected by the NVRL for week 44 2015. Respiratory virus (RSV) positivity increased further during week 44 2015, as expected at this time of year. The overall proportion of non-sentinel specimens positive for respiratory viruses increased during week 44 2015. Positive detections of parainfluenza viruses, adenovirus and human metapneumovirus have been reported for the 2015/2016 season to date.

Respiratory admissions reported from a network of setinel hospitals increased during weeks 43 and 44 2015, as expected at this time of year. Hospitalizations: Five confirmed influenza hospitalised cases were notified to HPSC for the 2015/2016 season to date : one associated with influenza A(H3), two with influenza A (not subtyped) and two with influenza B.

One confirmed influenza A case was admitted to a critical care unit and reported to HPSC for the 2015/2016 season to date.

There were no reports of any influenza-associated deaths for the 2015/2016 season to date. No acute respiratory outbreaks were reported to HPSC for the 2015/2016 season to date. In the European Region, influenza activity remained at low levels, with sporadic influenza detections reported.

Want a handbook for implementing a health and safety management system (OHSAS18001)?

Dr Dan Gallagher recently released an Ebook on entitled “Health and Safety Management System Implementation- A Practitioners Guide and Approach“. This book provides the necessary tools and know how to implement an effective health and safety management system. Numerous templates and practical examples are provided, and a step by step approach is outlined to make the process as easy as possible. The book was just reviewed in the Health and Safety Review, a leading journal for health, safety and environmental practitioners, legal experts and business owners.

Please click on the following link to see the review article:  HSR June 2015 Article HSS

For more information about the author please visit and LinkIn via https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dan-gallagher/1/20b/71a

 

 

Flu Update – Weeks 21-32, 2014

Update by Dr J Gallagher, Employment Health Advisors (EHA):

All indicators of influenza activity in Ireland remained at low levels for the summer period to date (weeks 21 – 32 2014).

The sentinel GP ILI consultation rates have remained low this summer, ranging from 0.0 – 2.6 per 100,000 population. No influenza-like illness (ILI) cases were reported during weeks 31 and 32 2014. ILI rates remained below the Irish baseline threshold (21.0 per 100,000 population). Age specific ILI rates were low in all age groups.

The proportion of influenza–related calls to GP Out-of-Hours services remained at low levels. Influenza positivity reported from the NVRL remained low for the summer period to date. No influenza positive sentinel GP specimens have been reported since week 20 2014. To date this summer, two acute respiratory outbreaks were reported to HPSC. Overall, influenza activity is at inter-seasonal levels in the northern hemisphere.

Influenza activity decreased in Ireland during Week 11 2014

Update by Dr J Gallagher, Employment health Advisors (EHA): Influenza activity decreased in Ireland during week 11 2014, however remained at elevated levels, with continuing reports of confirmed influenza hospital and ICU admissions and outbreaks. Influenza A(H3) is the predominant virus circulating. The sentinel GP ILI consultation rate was 38.2 per 100,000 population during week 11 2014, a slight decrease compared to the updated rate of 49 per 100,000 during week 10 2014. ILI rates remain above the Irish baseline threshold (21.0 per 100,000 population), for the seventh consecutive week. The highest age specific ILI rates during week 11 2014 were in those aged 65 years and older; age specific rates in all other age groups decreased. Influenza positivity decreased during week 11 2014, with 84 (22.6%) influenza positive specimens reported from the NVRL: 54 influenza A(H3), 29 influenza A(H1)pdm09 and one influenza A (not subtyped). The highest age specific rates for confirmed influenza cases admitted to hospital were in those aged less than 1 year and those aged 65 years and older. 20 influenza-associated deaths were reported to HPSC to date this season. 10 acute respiratory outbreaks were reported to HPSC during week 11 2014, the majority in residential care facilities/long stay units/community hospitals. Based on various influenza indicators, the status of the 2013/2014 influenza season has varied considerably across EU/EEA Member States in terms of the phase of the epidemic, its intensity and the dominant virus subtype.

Ehasoft