Display Screen Equipment

Health and safety legislation outlines the requirements that must be adhered to in relation to Display Screen Equipment (DSE).

The ICB recognises that all BSW colleagues can be categorised as DSE users and has in place a DSE Procedure.

All BSW colleagues are required to undertake a DSE assessment of their equipment, environment and use of DSE as part of induction (and as necessary going forward). It is particularly important that you undertake a DSE assessment of your home working environment on at least an annual basis and discuss this with your line manager. 

A short mandatory training session on setting up and working with DSE is available on ConsultOD and an information sheet is available. Reasonable adjustments will be supported by the ICB. Your line manager can also arrange for a level 2 assessment if you are experiencing problems.

Your DSE assessment will be stored centrally by the Health and Safety team and must also be filed on your HR personal file by your line manager. For more information please refer to the DSE Procedure.

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Eye and eyesight test arrangements

Every BSW colleague who uses DSE is encouraged to have an eye and eyesight test on a two yearly basis or more frequently if recommended by an optician.

The ICB has an eye and eyesight test procedure in place whereby a contribution will be made by the organisation towards the test and the cost of corrective spectacles if an eye test indicates they are required for DSE use. The procedure forms part of the DSE Procedure.

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Portable Appliance Testing (PAT)

At the moment there are no plans to PAT test screens and laptops used at home as this would either be intrusive (coming into colleagues’ homes) or counterproductive (bringing equipment into the office that might then be damaged on the way home).

The PAT test for this type of equipment generally involves a visual inspection of the equipment and cables looking for damage and then a voltage drop-off test of the cables to confirm that there is no damage. The ICB has decided that the visual inspection part of the PAT test needs to be carried out by colleagues. A visual inspection checklist is part of the DSE Policy. There is no set interval between PAT tests and we would encourage colleagues to check their equipment often and particularly when it has been moved to or from the office.

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