to go into work

[nhsworker]

name changed for this.

i have worked in the nhs for 9 years and always adhered to the rules with D&V and other sickness which are contigious conditions. However this is leading me into going into sickness interviews and currently i am on my last warning on the 1st level. The ward i work on seems to shut every few weeks due to D&V virus and for some reason i am picking it up.

I have been to the doctors today and i now have Conjunctivitis, I have 1 shift left in work before having 4 off, WIBU just to go in tomorrow.

I know exactly where you are coming from the nhs wants its workers to never be off sick yet not spread illness...this sickness review bullshit penalises people for acting responsibly!

if you are in the NHS and it's sickness you should have been refered to OH with a level one, have you? if not you need to contact OH and HR as your line manager isn't following policy.

On the conjunctivitis phone OH in the morning as when I worked in OH in the NHS 24 hour post comencement of treatment you could work, but check with your OH, rules change and I haven't worked in the NHS for 4 years.

Tricky - I work in a care setting and our place is the same - don't be off sick or else...but don't spread your illnesses around

Yabu. The health of patients has to be your priority. If it isn't, you are in the wrong job.

Well paying your bills and having a job in a day and age few are about is also a priority for most I should think

i'd go in and tell your manager in person - surely then they can decide (and take the responsibility) whether you should stay or not.

[but i'm not nhs so ignore me]

Am sure when I had conjunctivitis I was told I could go in.
These sickness review are crap!!!! An just going up to stage 2 due to a work place accident

Eat, that probably goes for the patients too, you know the ones who ate sick and might be more badly affect by conjunctivitis. What about patients that are having eye surgery?

Eat! I meant Eau, sorry!

Have you spoken to your union rep/RCN rep? This might be worthwhile if you're on your last warning.

You can't go in if you've got D&V; patient safety comes first.

Sorry OP; if you've got conjunctivitis not D&V!

I know full well people with infectious illnesses should be away from sick people. But it's not realistic on every occasion when staff are penalised and end up jobless for doing the sensible thing

I have the same problem with sickness with the school I work at and was on 'last warning' twice. Once for my own illness and once for DS when I was off when he first started Nursary! (We have no family living anywhere near us and our parents work too so couldn't come stay over and at the time had no friends to look after him either.)

As for your sickness - I'm sorry but it sounds like your work ate being very unreasonable to give you a 'last warning' if these bugs you are getting seem to have been picked up at work. My advice is stay off is weigh up the risks bit def stay off if you have been advised too. Phone ACAS regarding 'work related illness as they may be able to help. If you were ill with stuff picked up outside of work then in a way fair enough, bit if as you say a lot of your illness has been picked up due to the working environment (being around people with sickness bugs all the time) then you have certain rights - when I worked in a care home during my uni days, they were much more lenient with staff taking more 'sick leave' when there was a bug going round the home! (especially for us cleaners!)

Go see or talk to your boss and mention that you feel in this position of having to potentially infect patients by 'going in anyway' instead of staying at home because of what you have been told.

Hope you get better soon!

Forgot to say, ACAS were very helpful to me regarding what is and isn't allowed and just mentioning you are in contact with them can put the wind up HO sometimes. As others have said, a Union rep may be a good point of call for advice and support too. (I wasn't in a union when in your situation myself!)
I still have my job despite the 2 'last warnings' as they were quashed after ACAS advice.