Tolley’s Health and Safety at Work handbook 2005 17th Edition
Price £75.95
Tolley’s Health and Safety at Work handbook is described as the definitive, one-stop reference source for health and safety practitioners, so I put it to the test on something I had just been asked.
Usually I head for ‘Google’ or the HSE website, which is quick and efficient, but my query was not so quickly solved by the handbook because it took sometime to explore the contents and index for directions to the appropriate page.
The page num-ber given for pre-employment and periodic health surveillance was wrong and eventually came under ‘medical surveillance’ in the chapter on occupational health and disease.
This chapter spent a lot of time on prescribed diseases and not a lot on occupational health, reflecting the fact that the handbook is very medical-orientated, which is hardly surprising as the authors are legal people and not OH professionals.
There are sweeping statements made such as ‘regular examination… to ensure health is maintained’, which really do not mean anything, nor do examinations ensure that health is maintained!
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However, the list of contributors is impressive, albeit mainly from the safety and legal professionals with not an OH professional in sight.
There are some useful resources though with some interesting case law quoted. Overall, this would be a worthwhile reference book for occupational health departments to hold on their shelves.
