Medical Service: 40 years of outpatient care
On 1st June 2005 the Medical Service will be celebrating its fortieth birthday. This will mark forty years of service to the health of CERN's personnel by the Medical Service's small team of doctors, nurses, laboratory assistants and secretaries. Since 1965, 27 280 medical files have been archived and computerised.
The Medical Service was founded on 1st June 1965, with a staff of four: the doctor, Jean-Paul Diss, a nurse, a laboratory assistant and a secretary. Previously, a private medical practitioner had come to CERN to perform the medical check-ups on the personnel and the Fire Brigade was responsible for first aid. However, in view of increasing staff numbers and the specific needs of a Laboratory like CERN, an on-site Medical Service had become essential. The newly created medical team was also provided with a haematology laboratory and X-ray facilities.
With the increase in the CERN population over the years, the medical team also increased in size with the addition of a second nurse in 1968 and a second doctor in 1970, who was replaced the following year by Dr Etienne Maquet. In 1974, a small medical unit was set up on the newly opened Prévessin site, entailing the recruitment of a third nurse. The unit, which was not much used, was closed down four years later. In 2000, the Medical Service's premises in Building 57 were completely renovated and re-installed on two floors instead of three.
Today, the Medical Service has a team of eight: two doctors, three nurses, a laboratory assistant and two secretaries. The scope of its activities ranges from prevention to emergency treatment and includes regular medical check-ups, visits to work stations to examine working and ergonomic conditions and provision of medical information. In 2004, over 5,300 people contacted the Medical Service and the Service's doctors provided over 2,700 consultations. Two prevention campaigns were launched: one on the dangers associated with alcohol in the work place and the other on diabetes.
