This year marks the 20th anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases. On April 25, the 20th National Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Law Publicity Week was officially launched.
The National Health Commission held a press conference on the theme of "Everything for the Health of the People - Our Decade", and Wu Zongzhi, director of the Department of Occupational Health of the National Health Commission, said that since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the occupational health cause in the mainland has developed rapidly, and the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases has achieved remarkable results. The overall situation of occupational disease hazards in industrial enterprises across the country and the survival and protection of patients with occupational pneumoconiosis were basically clarified. The prevention and treatment of occupational diseases will be included in basic public health service projects, and all occupational diseases will be included in the monitoring scope of occupational diseases and occupational disease hazard factors, and the coverage rate of monitoring counties and districts will reach more than 95%.
In recent years, the high incidence of key occupational diseases such as pneumoconiosis has been initially curbed, and the occupational health rights and interests of workers have been further protected. The number of new cases of occupational disease reported nationwide decreased from 27,420 in 2012 to 15,407 in 2021, a decrease of 43.8%,8%,, of which the number of reported new cases of occupational pneumoconiosis fell from 24,206 in 2012 to 11,809 in 2021, a decrease of 51.2%.
The prevention and treatment of occupational diseases in mainland China has achieved 5 remarkable results
Wu Zongzhi introduced that since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases in the mainland has achieved five remarkable results.
1. The system of laws and regulations and standards and the supervision system and mechanism have been continuously improved
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has revised the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases three times, and has now formed a relatively complete system of laws, regulations and standards; in 2018, the institutional reform integrated the responsibilities of occupational health supervision, further straightened out the supervision system, and established a coordination mechanism for the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases at the national, provincial, municipal and county levels, forming a work synergy.
2. The special governance of key industries continues to advance
Organized the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis, and achieved the work goal of "finding out the bottom number, strengthening prevention, controlling the increment, and ensuring the stock". In 19 key industries such as mining, metallurgy, and building materials, special treatment of occupational disease hazards has been carried out, and enterprises have been urged to improve production processes, eliminate backward technologies, improve protective facilities, strengthen personal protection, and significantly improve the operating environment.
3. Technical services and support capabilities have been significantly improved
Implement the reform requirements of "decentralization service", optimize the approval procedures of technical service institutions, strengthen the planning layout and capacity building of technical support institutions, basically form a technical support network that combines occupational disease monitoring and assessment, occupational disease hazard engineering protection, occupational disease diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, and professional and technical services, and establish a work system of "prefecture and city diagnosis, county and district physical examination, and township rehabilitation".
4. Risk monitoring and assessment work has been continuously strengthened
The prevention and treatment of occupational diseases will be included in basic public health service projects, and all occupational diseases will be included in the monitoring scope of occupational diseases and occupational disease hazard factors, and the coverage rate of monitoring counties and districts will reach more than 95%. The overall situation of occupational disease hazards in industrial enterprises across the country and the survival and protection of patients with occupational pneumoconiosis were basically clarified. Actively promote the establishment of a working mechanism for risk monitoring, accurate supervision, timely rectification, and continuous improvement.
5. Occupational health protection actions have been carried out in an all-round way
Vigorously carry out publicity and education activities such as the "Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Law" publicity week, and create a strong occupational health culture atmosphere in the whole society. Strengthen the prevention of work-related diseases such as employee mental health and musculoskeletal system diseases. Actively carry out the construction of health enterprises, strive to be "occupational health experts" series of activities, vigorously promote the monitoring of occupational health literacy of key groups, and significantly enhance the sense of occupational health of the majority of workers.
What should I do if the worker encounters difficulty in diagnosis after being harmed by occupational diseases?
Li Tao, chief expert of occupational health at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, believes that the diagnosis of occupational diseases is not difficult in medical technology, and it is difficult to confirm the labor relationship between sick workers and employers, as well as the determination of the causal relationship between exposure to occupational disease hazard factors and diseases. The diagnosis of occupational diseases is essentially the diagnosis of the attribution of a disease, which is different from the diagnosis of general diseases, in addition to the determination of whether the patient is sick or not, it is mainly to determine which household the employee has been exposed to occupational disease hazard factors, which occupational disease hazard factors have been exposed, and whether the degree of exposure to occupational disease hazard factors is enough to cause the worker to be sick, and it is difficult in this aspect.
Li Tao introduced that according to the revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, the National Health Commission organized the revision of the "Measures for the Administration of Diagnosis and Appraisal of Occupational Diseases", which was promulgated and implemented in 2021, and the new "Administrative Measures for the Diagnosis and Appraisal of Occupational Diseases" has the following characteristics:
1. According to the law, it is clear that the certificate of occupational disease diagnosis shall be signed by a practicing physician who has obtained the qualification for occupational disease diagnosis, and shall be reviewed and sealed by the medical and health institution undertaking the diagnosis of occupational disease.
2. Simplify the information required by workers for the diagnosis of occupational diseases. The new measures stipulate that workers must only provide the diagnostic information of occupational diseases in their own possession, and the materials for the diagnosis and appraisal of occupational diseases are mainly provided by the employer.
3. For the first time, the time limit for the diagnosis and processing of occupational diseases is clarified, which greatly shortens the time for the identification of occupational diseases and further facilitates the diagnosis and identification of patients.
4. According to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, if there is no evidence to deny the inevitable connection between the hazard factors of occupational diseases and the clinical manifestations of patients, it shall be diagnosed as an occupational disease. According to this provision, the new measures define the connotation of evidence and also put forward corresponding implementation provisions.
In short, under the current legal framework, the revised measures for the diagnosis and appraisal of occupational diseases have made it possible to facilitate the diagnosis and appraisal of occupational diseases for patients. In the next step, on the basis of full investigation and demonstration, we will further actively promote the revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases with relevant departments, and further effectively promote the facilitation of diagnosis and appraisal of occupational diseases.
Are diseases such as occupational stress and low back pain counted as occupational diseases?
Li Tao said that occupational tension and low back pain cannot be regarded as occupational diseases at present, but it is a work-related disease. According to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases, occupational diseases refer to occupational diseases caused by exposure to dust, radioactive substances and other toxic and harmful factors in the occupational activities of workers of enterprises, public institutions and individual economic organizations. The classification and catalogue of occupational diseases shall be formulated by the administrative department of health under the State Council in conjunction with the administrative department of labor and social security under the State Council.
But occupational tension, as the name suggests, is due to mental and psychological tension caused by professional activities. What we now call low back pain does not refer to general low back pain, but work-related diseases caused by long-term overload or poor working style of the low back caused by work. Therefore, since it is a work-related disease, the employer should take active measures to prevent the occurrence of these work-related diseases.
Will diseases such as occupational tension and low back pain be included in the occupational disease directory in the future?
Paragraph 5 of Article 15 of Chapter II of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases stipulates that "the equipment, tools, utensils and other facilities of the employer shall meet the requirements of the physical and mental health of the employee." "In fact, it reflects the requirements for employers." For work-related diseases that are not included in the catalog, we will increase the popularization of disease prevention knowledge, continue to improve the health literacy and skills of occupational groups, and strive to achieve the goal of fewer and no diseases for workers.
In this regard, Li Tao believes that with the transformation of the main contradictions in mainland society and the full implementation of the healthy China strategy, the demand of workers for the prevention and protection of occupational diseases has been continuously improved. At the same time, we must also soberly realize that our country is still the largest developing country, and we must adhere to the principle of doing our best and doing what we can for the revision of the classification and catalogue of occupational diseases. Therefore, the adjustment of the classification and catalog of occupational diseases should be adapted to the level of national economic and social development and the affordability of work injury insurance, and scientific and rigorous diagnostic standards should be formulated to enable the attribution diagnosis of occupational diseases. According to the National Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Plan, during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the National Health Commission will work closely with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security to promote the revision of occupational disease classification and catalogue on the basis of full research and demonstration.
Workers Daily client "Le Health" No. 211
Source: Workers Daily client Workers Daily reporter Ji Wei