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RNZ News
a day ago
- Health
- RNZ News
KiwiRail bans 2500 workers from using melatonin, Zopiclone citing safety concerns
KiwiRail says all workers are required to notify their managers or supervisor of any factors which might impair their ability to perform their duties safely, including declaring prescription medications. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone KiwiRail has banned approximately 2500 of its workers from using melatonin and Zopiclone, citing safety concerns. Melatonin will soon be sold over the counter without requiring a prescription . Rail and Maritime Union health and safety organiser Karen Fletcher said in a recent memo to staff, KiwiRail said workers in safety sensitive roles taking melatonin or Zopiclone would be stood down temporarily. She said the union was not consulted on the decision. "We first heard about it when the staff got in touch with us and said, 'What's this all about?' They've been taking melatonin and Zopiclone for years and even decades, prescribed by a doctor, and sometimes the rail medical doctor. "It came as a shock." She said the staff included in the ban were those in high-risk, front-line roles, who often operated heavy machinery. Many were shift workers who relied on melatonin or Zopiclone to help them sleep, she said. "Shift workers have to sleep at odd times of the day and night, and [sleep medication] has been really helpful for them. "They take it to be fit for work because if they don't sleep, they're at risk of working in a fatigued state." She said the workers often had to shift their start time and sleep time, working rotating shifts. She said the union had not had any issues with workers being impaired from taking sleep aids, and some said taking them made them feel the best they ever had at work. "They're questioning why now, why the change, is there new evidence? "And will people be able to take it in certain circumstances, and what will happen to our members if they're unable to transition off these meds that they've been using for decades in some cases?" Melatonin will soon be sold over the counter without requiring a prescription. Photo: supplied In a statement, a KiwiRail spokesperson told RNZ it made the decision based on advice from its chief medical officer Dr Simon Ryder-Lewis who is an occupational medicine physician. "KiwiRail's chief medical officer has independently reviewed the use of Zopiclone and melatonin by safety critical workers at KiwiRail. This review considered the medical evidence regarding these medications as well as regulatory practices in rail and other comparable industries, both in New Zealand and internationally. "Based on this assessment, the chief medical officer has determined that neither medication is compatible with safety critical work at KiwiRail." KiwiRail said it placed the highest priority on safety and under its Fitness for Work Policy, all workers were required to notify their managers or supervisor of any factors which might impair their ability to perform their duties safely, including declaring prescription medications. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also told RNZ it did not generally recommend melatonin for pilots and crew. "We have found the use of melatonin by pilots and cabin crew is usually not useful to manage fatigue and roster-related time zone changes. Melatonin may be approved by CAA on a case-by-case basis for pilots without sleep disorders." Deputy Head of the University of Auckland Department of Anaesthesiology Guy Warman has expertise in sleep, circadian rhythms and melatonin. He said it was common for shift workers, particularly those who work overnight, to feel tired while on shift and have poor sleep while off work. "Shift work presents all sorts of challenges because people are working at times when the body is trying to promote sleep. "People then seek ways of improving their sleep through medication and other means. He said melatonin was different from other sleep medications that acted as sedatives. "It's not really a sleep drug, it's a hormone. "Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in the brain in very low doses. It naturally acts on receptors in our central biological clock to reinforce our day-night sleeping cycle. "However, in pharmacological doses, it can be taken to shift our biological clock and reduce sleep onset latency, which is the amount of time it takes to get to sleep." He said as long as it was taken in appropriate doses and at appropriate times, the safety effects of melatonin were positive. "The general recommendation is eight hours before doing any work. "The evidence I'm aware of is that the melatonin will be gone before the eight hours are up." He was not aware of any evidence that taking a standard 3mg of melatonin could cause impairment the day after it was taken. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Health
- RNZ News
KiwiRail shift workers concerned over melatonin ban
KiwiRail has banned the use of melatonin for approximately 2,500 of its workers, citing safety concerns. In a memo to staff last month, the State Owned Enterprise said - effective immediately - any staff that were undertaking safety critical work and were taking melatonin or zopiclone would be stood down temporarily and assessed accordingly. It said this was based off a recommendation from its Chief Medical Officer, who had considered the clinical evidence and what was done in comparable industries. The Rail and Maritime Union says it was not consulted on the changes, and the inability for members - many of whom are shift workers - to use medication to help them get to sleep is a serious problem. It is also seeking more information about the evidence cited - especially for melatonin - which is a naturally produced hormone, and helps people get to sleep - rather than a medication which forces someone to stay asleep. It comes as the Government moves to make melatonin easily accessible. Rail and Maritime Union health and safety organiser Karen Fletcher and University of Auckland Associate Professor Guy Warman discuss. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
