This section's first and second subsections continue the current law for offshore petroleum activities. The requirement for prudent handling of health-related matters is founded in the
Petroleum Act, the
Working Environment Act and the health legislation. The definition of health-related matters is stated in
Section 6, litera b. The regulations regarding occupational health service also apply to activities other than the petroleum activities. The provisions in the
Framework Regulations and supplementary regulations regarding other health-related matters, which are administered by the health authorities, apply within the scope of the respective enabling provisions in acts and regulations.
The health service in the offshore petroleum activities should be of at least the same professional quality as the municipal health service.
The operator shall, through its health service, see to it that everyone staying on offshore facilities is provided necessary healthcare, including immediate assistance, on the facility or during transport until the land-based primary or specialist health service assumes this responsibility, if applicable. Healthcare includes both preventive and curative services. The operator shall ensure that the health service in the offshore petroleum activities can fulfil its tasks according to the health legislation. Reference is made to
Section 16 of the Health Personnel Act (in Norwegian only), which is mentioned in the
Guidelines regarding Section 7 of the Framework Regulations. (According to
Section 16 of the Health Personnel Act (in Norwegian only), enterprises that provide healthcare, including offshore petroleum activities, shall be organised such that the health personnel are able to fulfil their statutory obligations.) Reference is further made to
Section 5 of the Framework Regulations, which provides for application of e.g. the
Patient's Rights Act (in Norwegian only) and the
Health Personnel Act (in Norwegian only) in the offshore petroleum activities.
The health personnel are subject to requirements for professional practice of their trade. This follows from the
Health Personnel Act (in Norwegian only), which contains the health legislation's general obligation provisions towards health personnel, cf.
Section 5 of these regulations.
The operator's responsibility for health-related matters at onshore facilities for petroleum activities as mentioned in the third subsection, is regulated through the
Technical and Operational Regulations as well as through other health and working environment legislation.