QUEST DIAGNOSTICS
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Testing times ahead for
drug and alcohol abusers		  


Quest Diagnostics offers expert help to companies tackling substance misuse in the workplace



Substance abuse can affect any firm
“Drug and alcohol abuse is a menace to society and hence can affect any company”
Drug and alcohol misuse in the workplace is an increasing headache for employers because of its impact on staff health, safety and welfare and on business productivity and profits. Employees with alcohol and substance misuse problems are more likely to go sick or absent, they are at increased risk of accidents, their work is likely to be of a lower quality and they can have troublesome working relationships with their colleagues. Increasingly, employers are considering workplace drink and drugs testing to be the most effective way of cracking down on the problem. The first step employers must take is to develop a well thought-out substance misuse policy. This will be a formal statement of the rules and regulations the organisation intends to establish to deal with drug and alcohol misuse and it should outline a clear and humane policy on how positive results will be dealt with.

The policy must cover issues such as legislation, education and awareness training, human rights, invasion of privacy, confidentiality and how the organisation will support individuals identified as needing help. A range of staff, including employees within the organisation, need to be consulted before the policy is agreed and implemented. Once in place, the most effective way of auditing its effectiveness is through a comprehensive programme of testing. Tests can be conducted pre-employment or unannounced and be “for cause”or post incident. Establishing a substance misuse policy and introducing drug and alcohol testing in the workplace is a complex process.

Specialist advice can be obtained from experts such as Quest Diagnostics, which runs one of the largest privately-owned laboratories in the UK. Quest Diagnostics offers workplace drug and alcohol testing and provides courses on policy development, Medical Review Officer training, developments in toxicology and Collection Officer training. Quest Diagnostics will conduct tests from an industry-standard list of about a dozen substances, including alcohol, opiates, cannabinoids, amphetamines (including members of the ecstasy group), barbiturates, benzodiazepines and methadone.

Samples are taken by Collection Officers, who are independent of both the laboratory and the employer. Urine is the traditional sample collected, but there is currently an ongoing debate about the merits of testing hair and oral fluid in the workplace. We can also supply near patient testing urine and saliva kits. When samples arrive at Quest Diagnostics’ £3. 5m state-of-the-art laboratory in Heston, Middlesex, they are opened, test procedures implemented and checked, and results initially analysed by automated processes to ensure a fast turnaround. In the event of a sample needing further clarification, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GCMS) is undertaken to identify the substances present.

A quality assurance programme is maintained by Quest Diagnostics to monitor and evaluate the quality of all phases of the testing process. A toxicology report is then sent back to the company’s medical officer or nurse, and help will be offered with interpretation if needed. Helen Vangikar Toxicology Laboratory Manager at Quest Diagnostics, says: “Drug and alcohol abuse is a menace to society and hence can affect any company. Employers are becoming more and more aware of the problem and the first step they should take is to develop a substance misuse policy reflecting their needs. This policy will become effective only if it is backed up by a rigorous testing programme. ”


Quest Diagnostics
Unit B1 Parkway West
Cranford Lane
Heston
Middlesex TW5 9QA
Tel: 020 8377 3591
www.questdiagnostics.com/uk



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