As part of Transport month Engen Petroleum has launched their annual Driver Wellness programme which commenced on October 1st.
Truck drivers in and passing through the Eastern Cape are invited to receive free voluntary health screenings as part of Engen’s Driver Wellness Initiative.
The schedule for the Eastern Cape is as follows:
Engen Driver Wellness is a mobile health awareness initiative run by Thubelihle Occupational Health & Wellness.
The initiative which has impacted positively on the country’s bulk truck driver operators has continued to increase driver participation in voluntary screenings and improved health scores over the years.
This year, over a two-month period, running from 1 October until the end of November, the programme will reach 20 sites in four provinces.
Running for its seventh year, Engen Driver Wellness continues to bring health to the front seat for truck drivers by providing them with free health screenings.
Operated nationwide at Engen Truck Stops and retail service stations, drivers are offered free voluntary screenings in mobile clinics. These are conducted by qualified nurses and councillors where blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, tuberculosis, BMI (Body Mass Index) and HIV/AIDS are tested.
Engen’s Corporate Social Investment Manager, Adhila Hamdulay says that the main aim of this initiative is to improve health through awareness. “Education helps to remind drivers and our employees why their health is important and how life choices impact on their well-being. Ultimately this increases their health, safety and productivity.”
“There has been a marked increase in the amount of individuals using the services we provide which is a clear indication that this intervention is making a difference to the wellbeing of drivers and will ultimately lead to a healthier industry,” adds Hamdulay.
As testing is voluntary, the incremental acceptance of health management as a path to longevity and wellbeing are important indicators that health empowerment is gaining traction. Given the long and lonely hours long haul drivers spend on the road and the stresses associated with the job, these interventions form a critical pillar of support.
“In 2017, 3 217 drivers took advantage of the voluntary free health screenings of which 44% were found to have some form of concern,’ added Hamdulay.
Abnormalities included being over-weight or obese, which accounted for 20% of drivers; 3.5% tested high for glucose levels and cholesterol. Five per cent of drivers tested high for blood pressure and 3% screened tested positive for TB. Drivers who tested positive for HIV totalled 6.7% and just over 2% tested positive for STI’s.
Engen’s focus on Health and Safety is aligned to its business. Health and Safety is entrenched in every aspect of the company’s operations. World-class standards and guidelines govern all of Engen’s practices in this regard and are applied vigorously to ensure operational excellence and best practice.
“Engen’s Driver Wellness campaign continues to have a massive all-round impact. This includes both on the drivers and their families, who benefit from reduced exposure to diseases and greater longevity of a breadwinner, and of course on the company itself, in terms of improved worker productivity, skills retention and disease management,” says Hamdulay.