Occupational Health

Own_Worst_Enermy

Hi,

I’ve learnt my work do want to get Occupational Health involved.
I just had a bad day yesterday as someone from Management made it sound like I was going to wake up massively better next week which I found unsettling (I did not answer back that I’ve a condition that you gradually have to get use to and life can change when I’ve had the specialist nurse round which I know I must heed.

I want to be positive and fight this horrible condition that has taken over my nerves but not get to the point where I’m unrealistic of what will be.

Questions that immediately spring to mind are where does the appointment take place - my home or will I be expected to travel for it? I thought home as this is where the Employer also intends to visit and if it comes to working from home won’t O/H want to see the area?

Can I state them to request reports to the hospital consultant/specialist? Just feel relations aren’t terribly good with the GP there was some misdiagnosing going on prior to hospital admission.

I’d offered the condition information booklet but the employer haven’t taken this up. Am I best giving to the Occupational Health? Then again after joining a support group online I’ve read no two people suffering are the same.

I may have more questions as I’ve never been to Occ Health. Grateful for anyone’s time on this.

eamon

Your employer has a "Duty of Care" (Health and Safety at Work Act) towards its employees i.e. you. Refering you to Occ Health is one of their responses.
In your shoes I would consider it a good & reasonable thing to do and you should do your best to engage fully with the process. By all means provide Occ Health with your condition booklet.

The link  below is from the CIPD and for a change it is something useful from HR.

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/occupational-health-factsheet#gref

Also explore with your employer if they have anything like employee wellness schemes etc. Lastly if you are a trade union member make contact with your local rep just incase the worst happens.

Best of luck.

Eamon

TELLIT01

OH is likely to be done by phone.  As eamon has said above, employers have a duty of care to their employees and if they failed to do an OH assessment in this situation it could create problems for them in the event of the condition worsening due to actions or lack of actions on their part.

elsien

When I had an occupational health referral I had to travel to see them, but that was before Covid so things may well be different now. 

You can share your hospital consultant details if you wish. 

diystarter7

Own_Worst_Enermy said:

Hi,

I’ve learnt my work do want to get Occupational Health involved.
I just had a bad day yesterday as someone from Management made it sound like I was going to wake up massively better next week which I found unsettling (I did not answer back that I’ve a condition that you gradually have to get use to and life can change when I’ve had the specialist nurse round which I know I must heed.

I want to be positive and fight this horrible condition that has taken over my nerves but not get to the point where I’m unrealistic of what will be.

Questions that immediately spring to mind are where does the appointment take place - my home or will I be expected to travel for it? I thought home as this is where the Employer also intends to visit and if it comes to working from home won’t O/H want to see the area?

Can I state them to request reports to the hospital consultant/specialist? Just feel relations aren’t terribly good with the GP there was some misdiagnosing going on prior to hospital admission.

I’d offered the condition information booklet but the employer haven’t taken this up. Am I best giving to the Occupational Health? Then again after joining a support group online I’ve read no two people suffering are the same.

I may have more questions as I’ve never been to Occ Health. Grateful for anyone’s time on this.

Hi OP

I had to go in about 20 yars ago and about ten years ago went in as an advocate with a co-worker buddy that asked me to

Both times it was big organisations. Both times it was near one of their offices in an isolated part of the building

I took no info with me on my OH assesment. My co-workers did

Both times the OH worker and mine was a part time nurse I think had good medical knowledge. Both times they not only appeared caring as possibly recognising that we were not trying to get one over but they fully supported the outcomes I ad co-worker seeked.. For me it was a gradual return to work after a serious illness and they gave me 7 weeks and I felt good starting FT after three

Co-worker stayed off sick and gradual return to work just as they hoped for.

We were open with OH, told them re hosptials and they had our full consent to contact gP's as they held copies of all letters etc

When I returned to work, my manger, credit to them, apologised for OH intervention. I accepted the apology and we were actually good work buddies after that.

Organisations have their reasons/criteria etc for involving/offering OH at at times if they are genu=ine it is to help you.

I hope my post has put your mind at ease

Btw, i prefer the human touch, face to face

Good luck and best wishes

diystarter7

Btw

As we all forget

Write down bullet points questions you may want to ask and tell OH

elsien

diystarter7 said:

Own_Worst_Enermy said:

Hi,

I’ve learnt my work do want to get Occupational Health involved.
I just had a bad day yesterday as someone from Management made it sound like I was going to wake up massively better next week which I found unsettling (I did not answer back that I’ve a condition that you gradually have to get use to and life can change when I’ve had the specialist nurse round which I know I must heed.

I want to be positive and fight this horrible condition that has taken over my nerves but not get to the point where I’m unrealistic of what will be.

Questions that immediately spring to mind are where does the appointment take place - my home or will I be expected to travel for it? I thought home as this is where the Employer also intends to visit and if it comes to working from home won’t O/H want to see the area?

Can I state them to request reports to the hospital consultant/specialist? Just feel relations aren’t terribly good with the GP there was some misdiagnosing going on prior to hospital admission.

I’d offered the condition information booklet but the employer haven’t taken this up. Am I best giving to the Occupational Health? Then again after joining a support group online I’ve read no two people suffering are the same.

I may have more questions as I’ve never been to Occ Health. Grateful for anyone’s time on this.

Hi OP

I had to go in about 20 yars ago and about ten years ago went in as an advocate with a co-worker buddy that asked me to

Both times it was big organisations. Both times it was near one of their offices in an isolated part of the building

I took no info with me on my OH assesment. My co-workers did

Both times the OH worker and mine was a part time nurse I think had good medical knowledge. Both times they not only appeared caring as possibly recognising that we were not trying to get one over but they fully supported the outcomes I ad co-worker seeked.. For me it was a gradual return to work after a serious illness and they gave me 7 weeks and I felt good starting FT after three

Co-worker stayed off sick and gradual return to work just as they hoped for.

We were open with OH, told them re hosptials and they had our full consent to contact gP's as they held copies of all letters etc

When I returned to work, my manger, credit to them, apologised for OH intervention. I accepted the apology and we were actually good work buddies after that.

Organisations have their reasons/criteria etc for involving/offering OH at at times if they are genu=ine it is to help you.

I hope my post has put your mind at ease

Btw, i prefer the human touch, face to face

Good luck and best wishes

Why would they apologise for a OH referral when it’s fairly normal practice? 

Jude57

No employer with any sense, even if they are health professionals, will diagnose or assess an employee's medical condition and especially not from an occupational health perspective. Occupational Health practitioners are independent, specialist medical professionals who, although they are usually paid by the employer, are not there to take sides. They are not the enemy but are there to assess whether and when you may be fit to return to work, and under what conditions. Any decent employer will request an OH assessment sooner rather than later and it's absolutely not a way of pressuring an employee to return to work early, nor is it something an employer should apologise for.

OH will ask for your permission to obtain medical reports from the specialists treating you. You can of course refuse this but the OH report will state that you have refused and will be based on incomplete information. You will be offered the choice of seeing the OH report before it is sent to your employer and that would be your opportunity to add or correct anything you feel the need to. OH are not, and like a GP, cannot be, experts in every medical condition. What they are experts in, is looking at ways to help people deal with their medical condition in a work environment. 

By all means provide an information booklet on your condition but remember that as health professionals, OH have access to resources a layman wouldn't have to learn more about it. And yes, make a note of the things you want OH to know about how the condition affects you and any questions you might have about how they can help you plan a return to work.

OH can recommend various things to the employer, from a phased return to full time hours by building up over several weeks, to specialist equipment you could need, to ultimately recommending that no return to that job will be possible at any point. Employers don't have to follow OH's recommendations but most do, even if only to avoid falling foul of disability legislation. 

In my experience, people are usually pleasantly surprised by how helpful the OH assessment is, so try not to worry too much. 

diystarter7

Hi again OP

I just remembered, ACAS, I and my family have used them a few times and they are puka

Lots of advice annd help if you need them

https://www.acas.org.uk/using-occupational-health-at-work

Thanks

TELLIT01

Whether or not a face to face assessment is required will depend on the condition being considered/investigated, although common sense doesn't always come into it. 

I needed to have an OH assessment when our systems changed and they wanted us to call claimants for information rather than send out letters.  As I suffer from tinnitus I can't use the phone much as it makes the condition much worse.  They decided my assessment would be done over the phone!  That went well - not.  The assessor report stated there was no reason I couldn't use the phone, despite me having to get them to repeat virtually every question.  Luckily for me, I was already see the audiology team at the hospital and could refuse to use the phones until that was completed.  Due to delays and cancelled appointments, I had actually retired before I finished with audiology.

Own_Worst_Enermy

Thank you for all info, anything helps, I was just madly thinking ohhh could they come out to my home as we’d request I work there to begin with and they might want to see that I don’t intend to sit on the floor or something! In bad luck the role is supposed to be non remote now and I cannot drive the distance to the town where the depot is situated without risk time being.

I may also be keeping the catheter in and I can pee for Britain! This hospital rollercoaster is getting testing and where I thought least part of Occupational Health could help with counselling maybe from past vibes I’d read as a plus, the ward I’m on is going to organise someone to come and speak to me whilst as inpatient as I’m really coming apart in here I’m ashamed to say.

I’m really hopeful as my employer is a big national name and does at least recognise the industry union, that and WFH when it helped employer, I really live in hope.  They’ve a good modern state of the art depot with a lift just a case of time.

Thank you so much for reading my ramblings.