How to choose an OHC partner: a 15-point checklist for HR and EHS heads

Choosing an occupational health centre (OHC) partner is one of the few vendor decisions that can directly affect whether a worker survives a serious incident. Yet many contracts are still awarded on a per-month rate and a staff list. This checklist helps HR and EHS heads compare partners on what actually matters on the shop floor, in audits and during an emergency.

Use it as a scoring sheet: give each point a score from 0 to 2 for every shortlisted partner, and ask for evidence rather than assurances. A partner who cannot show a sample report, roster or protocol for a point should not score on it.

Staffing and clinical quality

1. Qualified doctors and nurses for your risk profile

Ask how the partner decides between a full-time doctor, a visiting doctor and nurse-led cover, and whether its doctors hold occupational health training where your state rules or customer audits expect it. Request anonymised CVs of the people who would actually be posted, not company brochures.

2. Relief and leave cover

An OHC that closes when the nurse is on leave is not an OHC. Confirm how relief staff are arranged, how quickly, and whether they are briefed on your site's hazards before they start.

3. Clinical supervision

Who reviews the onsite team's decisions? A good partner has a named senior doctor who audits case notes, referrals and fitness decisions periodically and is reachable for difficult cases.

Emergency readiness

4. Written emergency protocols

Ask for the partner's protocols for cardiac arrest, burns, chemical exposure, crush injuries, falls from height and heat illness. They should name who does what in the first ten minutes.

5. Equipment and medicine lists matched to hazards

The equipment list should reflect your processes. A chemical plant, a construction site and an IT campus need different stock. Check that expiry tracking is part of the service.

6. Ambulance and hospital tie-in

Confirm whether an ambulance is onsite, on call or arranged through a third party, its typical response time to your gate, and which hospitals receive your casualties. Ask for a drill report from another site.

7. First-aider training support

The OHC cannot be everywhere. A strong partner trains and refreshes shift first-aiders and keeps the roster current.

Records, compliance and data

8. Statutory and customer-audit records

Ask which registers and forms the partner maintains for you, and in what format. Requirements differ by state and industry, so check the applicable state rules with your factory inspectorate or legal team and confirm the partner will maintain what applies.

9. Periodic medical examination planning

The partner should map hazard-linked tests to job roles and schedule them, rather than waiting for you to ask.

10. Digital medical records and confidentiality

Medical records belong to the worker and must be kept confidential. Ask who can see individual records, how HR receives only aggregate or fitness information, and how data is stored and backed up.

11. Monthly reporting

Request a sample monthly report. Useful reports show visits by complaint type, injuries, referrals, lost-time cases, overdue examinations and trends, not just footfall.

Commercial and relationship points

12. Clear scope and exclusions

Consumables, medicines, investigations, ambulance use and specialist visits are common areas of dispute. Make the scope explicit in the contract.

13. Transition plan

If you are moving from another provider or an in-house team, ask how records, stock and staff will be handed over without a gap in cover.

14. Escalation and review meetings

Agree a named account manager, a monthly or quarterly review, and an escalation path for clinical and service complaints.

15. References you can actually call

Ask for two client contacts at sites similar to yours and call them. Ask what went wrong and how it was handled; that tells you more than what went right.

How to use the scores

Weight the emergency and staffing sections more heavily than price. A partner that scores well on points 1 to 7 but is slightly more expensive usually costs less over a year once you count incidents, audit findings and lost time.

If you are still deciding whether you need an OHC at all, start with the questions in our guide to occupational health centre requirements, then use this checklist for the shortlist.

Running the evaluation

Invite each shortlisted partner to walk your site before they quote. A partner who prices an OHC without seeing your processes, shifts and distance to hospital is guessing. During the walk, note whether they ask about hazards, contractor numbers and night work, or only about headcount. Then ask each partner to present to a small panel of HR, EHS, production and, if possible, a worker representative. Ask the same questions in the same order so the scores can be compared fairly, and keep the evidence they share with your scoring sheet for future audits.

Next steps

Shortlist three partners, share this checklist with them in advance and ask for written evidence against each point. Score them independently with EHS and HR, compare the totals, then visit one existing site run by your top choice before signing. Agree a ninety-day review in the contract so you can check that what was promised is what is delivered on the ground.

Plan My Health sets up and runs onsite medical rooms across India. See how we approach staffing, emergency readiness and records on our occupational health centre (OHC) services page.