Appointed doctors

Under certain regulations, employers have a duty to ensure workers are placed under ‘statutory medical surveillance’ by an ‘appointed doctor’. The information on this page explains those duties and outlines the role of appointed doctors and appointment procedures.

This page will be of interest to:

  • employers who, by law, are required to arrange statutory medical surveillance.
  • established appointed doctors, and
  • medical practitioners interested in becoming an appointed doctor.

What is an appointed doctor?

An appointed doctor is a registered medical practitioner appointed by HSENI to undertake statutory medical surveillance.  HSENI is responsible for the following regulations where medical surveillance conducted by an appointed doctor may be required:

These responsibilities include:

  • reviewing and maintaining the regulations, Approved Codes of Practice and guidance
  • enforcing the regulations
  • responding to requests for information and advice
  • appointing suitably qualified medical practitioners to conduct medical surveillance.

Please note that appointed doctors are required to complete HSENI forms and NOT those of HSE which may be contained within HSE guidance documents.  Only HSENI forms should be emailed to the following address:

Newly appointed Doctors can work for more than one company in the first year, however, for Control of Lead at Work Regulations (NI) 2003, one of the following three criteria is to be met:

  • They must have undertaken training for appointed doctors on Lead (provide copy of training certificate)
  • They must have previously been appointed under the Control of Lead at Work Regulations (NI) 2003 and have conducted medical surveillance on lead workers (provide copy of previous certificate of appointment)

 

  • They will have been initially supervised by an experienced appointed doctor who has conducted medical surveillance under the Control of Lead at Work Regulations (NI) 2003 (provide name and PIN of appointed doctor)

Currently appointed HSE doctors can be considered for appointment under any Northern Ireland regulation by providing their HSE certificate and a completed HSENI MS38 form to HSENI at the following address:

If your appointment requires you to undertake specific refresher training, for example for an appointment under the Ionising Radiation Regulations (NI) 2000, it is your responsibility that you keep your training certificate up to date.

Information for employers

You have a legal duty to ensure your employees are under medical surveillance by a doctor appointed by HSENI, if they work with specific hazards and undertake certain work activities covered by the relevant regulations listed below.

The purpose of statutory medical surveillance is for the appointed doctor to monitor your employee’s health for early signs of health problems, which have been caused or made worse by the work they are doing.  They are also necessary to provide employees and employers with expert advice regarding the health effects of further exposure to a particular hazard.

The appointed doctor should also make you aware of any emerging health issues so that your employer can review all applicable risk assessment(s) and ensure that risks to your employees’ health are properly controlled.

If you require the services of an appointed doctor, you can search the online lists of appointed doctors available on HSENI’s website as provided below.  If you wish to use a doctor who is not on a list, they will need to apply to HSENI ensuring they meet HSENI’s set criteria.

Although appointed by HSENI, appointed doctors are not employed by HSENI. The company requiring statutory medical surveillance is responsible for agreeing conditions of service and payments with the appointed doctor.

HSENI lists of appointed doctors:

Information for appointed doctors

Information on the appointment and renewal process can be found on the HSE website at the following link:

Appeals

If you wish to appeal any decision, send the request in an email to the following address:

Resources

HSENI forms must be used and emailed to HSENI at the following email address:

Appointed doctors – Asbestos

Information for employers on medical surveillance for work with asbestos can be found on the following HSENI webpage: 

Appointed doctor forms relating to work with asbestos can be downloaded from the following links: 

The certificate of medical examination form, HSENI MS72A, is available by request from HSENI at the following email address:

Appointed doctors – Compressed air

HSENI has no current appointed doctor forms relating to compressed air.  For general information on compressed air, please see the following HSENI webpage at the following link:

Appointed doctors – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

Appointed doctor information on COSHH health surveillance can be found at the following link:

Appointed doctors – Ionising Radiation

Appointed doctor information on ionising radiation can be found at the following link: HSE Guidance for Appointed Doctors on the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017

Appointed doctors – Lead

Information on working with lead and its compounds can be found on the HSENI Lead webpage at the following link:

Appointed doctors’ forms relating to work with lead and its compounds can be downloaded from the following links:

More Information

If you have any questions relating to appointed doctors not answered within this website, or if you are an appointed doctor with an enquiry about your appointment, please contact HSENI at the following email address:

You can also find more information on HSENI's General Practitioners and Employment Medical Advisory Service web pages at the following links:

Related to Appointed doctors

Most recent publications

HSENI Appointed Doctor Audit Form

27 May 2021

Health surveillance record form - licensed work (HSENI MS100)

27 May 2021

See related publications

Access to information

How to request information from the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland including Freedom of Information (FOI) and the use of our Publication Scheme.