Help

[1940gal]

Hi everyone.

I've been off sick since the end of October. I work on a busy ward and have been working for the NHS 13 years.

Diagnosis is multiple endplate fractures. Multiple lumbar Disc extrusions. Subluxed pelvis. And waiting on results to test for MS and Huntingtons disease.

Mobility very poor. I can walk with crutches approximately 10 yards, then fatigue or my left leg gives way. I cannot drive anymore. I cannot lift my children up. I cannot bend to dress my lower half. I struggle to shower/ use the toilet independently.

No meetings at work as yet. I've not heard from my line manager since being off sick.

I go to half pay in April.i will not be able to make ends meet and insolvency looks likely . My partner cannot cope with me anymore and we are to separate. If I go to half pay I will become homeless.

Any thoughts/ideas? Any work from home temp jobs?

Thank you

Sorry OP that sounds like you are going through a lot at the moment

You will need to be careful as if you’re still receiving half sick pay you might not be permitted to do another job working from home.

Are you in a union?

Do you have any idea how long you expect to be unwell? If it is long-term, are there any other roles which your employer could move you to?

I'm waiting on a date for surgery (This could be as late as November).... with a rough guideline of 3-6 months recovery.

Occupational health won't redeploy me until I've had the surgery.... in essence I'm a liability to my organisation as my spine is so unstable. I've asked about working from home and there are no current roles that would allow me to do this...

I am in a Union (Thank goodness) x

Have a look in the yellow pages for a solicitor / firm who specialises in employment law and who offers the free initial session. They are usually much easier to get to see than cab.
Also get on to your union rep ASAP.

Gand look into getting a pip claim started

You should be in touch with manager, hr, and occupational health.
Can you retire or get redundancy on health grounds.
Why homeless, you will be entitled to benefits?
If disabled look for support from social services and rehousing if needed, difficult, but can be done.

I agree that looking into PIP could help. The only difficulty is you need to have a condition which doctors expect to last for at least the next 12 months, and I’m not sure how your surgery will affect this.

I assume you don’t have insurance or anything to cover the mortgage? (No judgment from me - I don’t have this).

I would suggest contacting CAB. They can do advice by phone or email and might be able to help with benefits, employment issues and debt management.