AIBU to lose sleep over pre employment health check?

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I've just got myself a brand new job. This is all fantastic, but I have just been asked to fill out some medical forms as part of the pre employment process and for some reason it all seems very invasive to me!

I have two main concerns-

1. How honest do I have to be? I don't have any major health issues, and I don't need any adjustments to be made. I do have very painful periods due to some hormonal disturbances. As a child I had some health issues which have now been fully resolved. Do I need to mention these?

1. Just how much information can they get about me from the NHS? I ask because I don't want them to get contradictory information from two different sources. I haven't been in UK for that long and I've never been treated by the NHS for anything. However, they probably do have some details about my medical history from when I registered with them. I called my GP surgery and asked exactly what information they would give out about me to an employer and the lady categorically said that they would reveal nothing. She said that they wouldn't even acknowledge that I was registered there. Unfortunately, this isn't what the NHS website states It states that a GP can pass on details of medical history to a potential employer and that I can ask to see what these might be before they are passed on... I don't know what to believe here and I would be grateful if someone with more information could clarify this for me.

They are not allowed to withdraw an offer of a job unless you have a disability that actually stops you doing that job eg they offered you a job as a driver but then found out you were legally blind.

If the medical throws up anything they should be doing to make your work environment better then they have to do that.

I have a LOT of medical problems and declare them all. I have once been asked to attend in person to meet an occy health nurse who said, "the person sitting in front of me is not the person I saw on this sheet". Once she had met me she was happy for me to start work.

All right, I won't lie on the form then :) I just don't want the bother of being called for an examination and all that... I hope they just ignore the issues I declare and leave it at that.

There's no reason to lie. These forms are both for your benefit (so they can make any reasonable adjustments you might need) and for theirs (so you don't accuse them of causing a condition you had before you got the job). They're basically an arse-covering exercise. They don't care what conditions you have as long as you can do the job.

Plus being honest will ensure your medical insurance is valid.

I am shocked at so many people telling you to lie! Glad you have decided honesty is the best policy. You could be sacked, lose sick pay and even be uninsured in the event of an incident at work if you have lied.

I don't exactly remember all that I have revealed in my NHS registration. And as I explained earlier in the thread, I can't access my records just yet. I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge, but what if there is a slight discrepancy between what I have listed and what the NHS has on record? Would they find out? And just how bad would it be if they did?

For example, I had mild depression some 3 years back and it was resolved quite quickly without any medication. I wasn't in the UK at the time. I don't know if I mentioned it to the NHS, but I definitely don't want to mention it in my pre-employment checks. Firstly, it was completely insignificant and it hasn't returned ever since. Secondly, I am very private about that phase in my life and I absolutely don't want to discuss it with HR.

I would agree with those who say don't lie, but equally grommets at 5 are not relevant.
Depression is but the reasons for it are not, I am also OH and I am happy with a quick explaination of mild depression (althought there is no such thing you either are or aren't but people use this to discribe the length of time they had it and is acceptable) such as death of parent, list job, family issues, and treatment or not as the case maybe, a rough approximation of duration of illness.
I have been in OH long enough to be faintly suspicious of anybody over 40 who returns a form which doesn't have at least back pain or stress/depression :)
Not that there is anything I can do about it.
Even if your form has a bit to sign giving permission to write to your GP no OH I know would be stupid enough to write to a GP based on that, those statements tend to be a relic written by HR's back in the day, it would not constitute informed consent.
Also if your job is in the NHS, we still can't access your notes, my last job was in the NHS and even though we where on the hospital IT system out manager made sure all links to patient notes where disabled, so we couldn't even make a mistake. It would be against Data protection and access to medical records.
GP records are entirely separate to hospitals.
If you are still in any doubt how many times have you heard someone's hospital appointment had to be rebooked because the notes where missing? The NHS is not a linked up system

missingmum, I'm really surprised that you would be suspicious about people over 40 not having back pain or stress. I am in my 40s, have never had either, and haven't had a day off sick in 10 years (I work full time). I don't think I'm unusual in that. I don't do a physical job and am reasonably fit, so can't see why I would be likely to have back pain. I've certainly felt stressed at times but not to the extent that I've see a gp or taken time off work. I have seen a gp in the last few years for period problems, but again haven't needed time off work.
OP, I think you should be honest on the health form, it might cause problems if you're not.

I am still unclear about how they'd actually know that I have lied if my GP can't tell them anything without my consent

HappyCliffmas- the thing is, they have only asked me for the GP's details. They have not yet asked me for consent to contact him. FRom what everyone else has said here, I have gathered that they will need specific written consent from me to contact my GP and access my records.
(Please correct me if I have misunderstood!)

I have not seen my GP about painful periods. I saw this temporary GP a few years ago while I was studying for a prescription of the pill to address my acne. During that appointment I might have mentioned something about painful periods and enquired if the pill would help with that. But this was a temporary GP clinic at my uni and it was a few years ago. I doubt they even saved my records, but you never know.

Even if i haven't seen a GP about it, it's still on my records...

That's what even I thought, but when I filled in the registration forms for the new GP surgery about 18 months ago, I filled in painful periods and a couple of other things as a part of my medical history. So I imagine it would still be on my records somewhere.

Tell the truth.
If you have been offered, and have accepted, the job, the offer will not be withdrawn.
The health questionnaire is to help the employer understand if there is anything they need to do to help you on the role.

Thanks everyone. I suppose I don't really have a choice but to declare my medical issues. I am still not convinced that I should disclose anything about the depression, so I am most likely going to keep that to myself.

I will however declare the rest and emphasise that it is mild and/or cured.

How alarming would a childhood lung condition be if I haven't had any symptoms for 10+ years and I am not currently being treated for it either?

The only way the lung condition might be relevant now in a negative way is if the job requires use of breathing apparatus or containment suits. I was unable to take up a role (after 3 interviews, security screening etc) as my previous asthma was an absolute contraindication because of this.

Better to declare than not if in doubt

What are containment suits??? This is a regular 9-5 desk job in finance.

Anyway, I had mild childhood asthma which kind of went away. I know that asthma technically has no "cure" but mine is essentially gone because I haven't had a single episode in 10+ years and I don't need any medicines either.

But I'm still worried about declaring it.

I would declare everything, even the depression - I always work on the basis that it's unlikely to cause me many issues by declaring, but by not it could cause a major problem! As others have said - I'm one of those people who would get caught out. Incidentally, I had a pre employment medical last week and didn't pass, due to medication I have to take - I had to tell them every kind if pill I'd taken in the last week. My sample gets checked in a lab against what I've declared & if anything different shows up, I'll be out of a job.

But I seriously doubt you would be given an interval exam for a pre employment medical. Try & sleep easy, and declare it all!!

I don't see why I should have to reveal a brief bout of non-recurring depression to an employer and open up a very private can of worms. My mind is made up on that- my mental health issues are private.

In any case, I have never sought any treatment on the NHS for depression so it isn't even on their records. Besides, there is just too much stigma associated with mental health issues.

scarffiend-

can you tell me what sort of job this was that disqualified you on the basis of some medication? That sounds really odd.

Is it the norm to do blood tests to double check declarations of what medication is being consumed?

I ask because I am wondering whether or not to declare the medication that I am required to take occasionally.