occupational health - to be concerned?

[OnNaturesCourse]

work are referring me due to a underlying medical condition that has resulted in time away from work. should I be concerned? feel like its the beginning of the end..

What the oh should be doing is finding out about your condition and recommending adaptions to help you spend more time in work.

Are there any adaptations you think your employer could make? Flexible working for example.

Is your condition likely to be a long term condition?

Don't be concerned about it. Your workplace may have a legal obligation to make a reasonable adjustment (if your condition falls under the Equalities Act) they need some medical expertise to assist in working out what you need.

My dh has a long term condition, OH suggested to his employer that his 'reasonable adjustment' would be to allow more time off work for medical appointments. From a management perspective it's easier to implement a recommendation like that if there is medical authority behind the request.

Dh's interaction with OH was just a phone call on his mobile while we were having lunch in the pub! Honestly, just a fact of referral is nothing to worry about.

I've had it all my life but it normally sits in the background but over the last 5 years has been getting worse. I've been referred for treatment in the hope of getting relief ... treatment is for up to 9 months.

I don't think any changes can be made other than regular breaks and support in attending the treatment days

thanks, it's nice to hear other experiences.

I get rundown a lot from it which is why the doctor signed me off this time. do you think it's worth mentioning a change of hours? ie. condensed so I can have a day to recoup/attend appointment or working less hours?

Condensed hours, working from home, flexitime, regular breaks are all reasonable adjustments. I'd be wary about reducing your hours as you may end up doing the same amount of work in fewer hours. You could suggest a job share if you wanted to significantly reduce your hours either permanently or for a set period of time (say a year to cover your treatment time and any delays or adjustment time).

As would be time off for treatment days as I assume that the aim of the treatment would be to put your symptoms back in the background.

Does your illness fall under the equally act? How flexible is your employer?

I don't believe it does fall under it. It's all urinary tract based whereby I have no tolerance to infections and have had previous treatments to prevent reflux to kidneys and to help the bladder .

Information for this treatment

Your employer will probably be asking OH whether they consider your condition to fall under the EA. I'd suggest also raising it yourself to make sure.

I'm due a call from OH in next few days and I'm ridiculously nervous

Don't be - they'll be really nice. Make yourself a list of all the points you want to get across to them and any questions you have. They will probably ask you what you want in the workplace so give that some thought. The things you mentioned before are all valid suggestions. And, as in dh's case, simply being allowed extra time to attend appointments is also a reasonable request.

thank you.

should they give me a call time or can I just expect it whenever

I'm an OH nurse. You should get a time for your phone call.
I work from home and I'm sent a schedule for my calls.

Thanks dotdash, I'll feel more prepared then

I refer people to occupational health. It is for supportive reasons to ensure I am doing all I can to help people return to work/keep working.

Agree with Perfect, as a people managed I am regularly in contact with OH to support my employees. They are helpful and in the call with you will just want to get an understanding of your condition and what support you may need. They then write a report to your line manager accordingly.

I have also referred myself to OH as I was doing a role where an issue with my eyes combined with my office environment caused temporary issues. They were great and meant I could get some changes made to my computer screen that usually wouldn't be allowed

Sorry people manager!

thank you all.

I just panicked and thought they maybe didn't believe me!?

Make sure you find out the qualifications of the person you will be speaking to at OH. Not every "professional" is suitably qualified to deal with all conditions. Make sure you know where your confidential medical information is going to be kept and who will have access to it.

Forgot to say, the OH advisor will write a report following the conversation.
You should be sent a copy of the report and you should be given the option of seeing the report before your manger/HR if you want.