Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996)

Annexure A

INTRODUCTION

The Health Incident Report (HIR) has been developed from recommendations of GEN 501 to generate centralised database to record the occurrence of occupational diseases in the South African mining industry, together with the morbidity and mortality of such diseases.

The database is used by the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate for research purposes. This research helps to identify and classify problem areas in occupational disease management, so that appropriate preventative measures can be implemented. The occupational diseases database has been designed with an attached user guideline/procedure and the data-input form for completion by Occupational Medical Practitioners (OMPs) in the mining industry in submitting details of disease occurrences.

The Health Incident Report occupational diseases system uses the same list of mines as SAMRASS, the intention being to standardise data on disease incidents for administrative simplicity, as well as for statistical purposes.

Normal medical ethics must apply to confidentiality of personal and medical data. An employee consent form is attached as an annexure (Annexure B). There is a legal obligation to notify certain diseases, such as tuberculosis, to the authorities for protection of the community. In such a case, the common good has to override personal interests. But, as mentioned, access to the detailed data must be restricted in order to prevent violation of personal privacy rights.

The system is not designed to record clinical details of a disease occurrence; the main purpose of the data is to address the lack of information on the prevalence of occupational diseases in the mining industry. The nature of the data is designed to facilitate subsequent statistical analysis of masses of cases, rather than an in-depth clinical analysis of any specific case. This is to enable corrective measures to be prioritised and monitored. The document was developed in consultation with representatives from State, Labour and Employer.

The following aspects were taken into account:

An important consideration in the revision process was to design the reporting system without adding to the workload for the mines. With this in mind, codes which are consistent with industry reporting to Rand Mutual Assurance have been incorporated with SAM BASS reporting.

The choice and definition of variables to be reported, statistical measures and categories and groups for which statistics are reported, were revisited.

The new system has also been designed to conform to international standards and to facilitate comparison with other statistics.

Coding structures should be consistent with previous code sets so that history is not lost and should be readily understood by persons completing the prescribed forms.

Statistics will be published in the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate (MHSI) Annual Report and disseminated. Graphs, diagrams and explanatory notes will be used.

Statistics will be presented, illustrating the situation and trends within the different mining sectors.

The intention of this document is to ensure that all mines make use of the same terminology regarding disease reporting.

[Annexure A of form DMR 231 inserted by Notice No. R.  702 dated 12 September 2014]