Can my GP overrule O.H?

nac

Hi. Occupational Health have said I'm not ready to go bk to work for 2months but what happens if both myself and my GP think I'm ready to go back sooner, what would my employer do? Would they allow me to go back??

trishandbubs

dont know for definate but im sure that if occ health say your not ready to return that it cannot be over ridden by GP or yourself as you wouldnt be covered by the company insurance. Im sure there will be someone who knows more than me on soon

SarEl

Not enough information to say - why are you off and why would OH disagree with you/ the GP?

Jinx

nac wrote: »

Hi. Occupational Health have said I'm not ready to go bk to work for 2months but what happens if both myself and my GP think I'm ready to go back sooner, what would my employer do? Would they allow me to go back??

Fit notes from your GP are advisory so the company can choose or not to accept the diagnosis. Normally they pay a lot of money for occ health so I would expect them to go with them to be honest.

daveboy

Sorry to hijack this but what if it was a consultant surgeon rather than a GP?

....as I have a potential issue coming soon in regard to a disability/impairment and whether I can do certain things.

SarEl

It's the same answer - different circumstances influence outcomes. So little detail means no accuracy in the answers.

Emmzi

Occ health are there in an advisory capacity, are not your main GP who has all your records, and if their opinion varies from your GP's it often means they don't have all the information. So as a start make sure everyone has all the info.

It is not a case of "whose opinion trumps." It is a case of "what is best for your health."

FWIW I have never seen OH "over rule" a GP in dozens and dozens of reports. Sometimes they need additional data. And usually it is because the employee is electing not to give them the whole story.

Emmzi

daveboy wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this but what if it was a consultant surgeon rather than a GP?

....as I have a potential issue coming soon in regard to a disability/impairment and whether I can do certain things.

OH may ask for a report from the consultant. If they don't, make sure they get one anyway.

SarEl

Emmzi wrote: »

I have never seen OH "over rule" a GP in dozens and dozens of reports. .

Oh but they do. Admittedly not in the majority of cases - but often enough. GP's don't always get a whole story from employees either! If they want/need to get back on payroll they have been known to persuade the GP they are fit enough to return. Sometimes by failing to remember that aspects of their job may not be at all a good idea to be combined with whatever is wrong. If OH are appearing to overrule medical practitioners (bearing in mind that most OH are also medical practitioners) then it's important to know why they are doing so. It might be as simple as "not yet because we haven't got enough nformation" - but it also may not be.

Emmzi

SarEl wrote: »

Oh but they do..

as in, "I think your GP is wrong?"

My reports are woollier than that And err on the side of professional respect.

VfM4meplse

I've had experience of a surgeon's sick note advising one course of action, and OH advising something completely different. With a clinical hat on, I was more inclined to agree with the surgeon rather than the non-scientific approach that OH took. What I found particularly astounding was the bizarre allegation from OH that neither I nor the surgeon really understood the nature of the condition!! It made life really hard as there were potential disciplinary issues complicating matters.

What I do know was the condition didn't affect the ability of the member of staff complete the necessary work, so we eventally agreed on working from home as a solution.