AlphaBiolabs has added medical assessments to its range of services as demand for workplace testing soars.
The Warrington-based company, which also carries out DNA testing for The Jeremy Kyle Show, has seen a 68 per cent rise in sales for employee drug and alcohol testing over the past 12 months.
Now AlphaBiolabs is investing a six-figure sum to roll out medical appraisals nationwide through its network of walk-in centres and sample collectors.
The move will help AlphaBiolabs meet demand from companies across a range of sectors.
AlphaBiolabs has introduced fit-for-work medicals to examine physical and mental capacity for specific jobs or tasks, assessments for people working at height, in safety-critical roles, confined spaces and specialist environments, and personal track safety assessments for Network Rail trackside roles.
The assessments include blood pressure, hearing, sight, lung function, oxygen levels, mental health, musculoskeletal fitness and cholesterol.
They are tailored to sectors including construction, rail and other forms of transport, oil and gas, utilities, manufacturing and logistics.
Rachel Davenport, commercial director at AlphaBiolabs, said: “Our drug and alcohol testing service has been producing legally-defensible results for companies across the UK for over 14 years.
“Combining our testing know-how with medical assessments makes perfect sense for our customers and the business, and is a natural extension to our portfolio of services.
“Over the past 12 months we have increased workplace drug and alcohol testing sales by 68 per cent.
“As a result of this growth, the number of related inquiries for medicals to accompany those tests has increased significantly, so we have decided to invest in this new complementary workplace medicals service to offer a complete testing package.”
According to the Health and Safety Executive, 31.2million working days were lost in Britain during 2016/17 due to work-related ill-health and workplace injuries.
Rachel said: “Safety must always come first and it is important that workers are not suffering from medical conditions or undergoing any treatment that could impair their ability to operate in certain environments.
“Regular medicals as well as drug and alcohol testing are recommended as part of the health and safety provisions which companies must make, as they have a duty of care to ensure their staff are fit to perform their roles.
“Regular testing also improves productivity, cuts cost and safeguards the reputation of a business.”
AlphaBiolabs has initially launched the service at its walk-in centres in Warrington, London and Newcastle upon Tyne, with plans to roll it out to other sites over the coming months.
Its medical professionals can also conduct assessments in the home or workplace.
The results can be uploaded to the relevant industry portals, such as Sentinel for the rail sector.
