PND, long term sickness and NHS capability hearings.

[themitchellbrothers]

This is my first post here and I apologise as it might be long. I was recommended to come over here from a mum on another (twins) forum I go on.

I have 8 yr old twin boys and a 1.5yr daughter. I suffered with severe PND after the birth of my boys and took 1 years unpaid leave to deal with their health issues and to give me time to recover.

I was diagnosed with PND in September 2011. About 2 weeks after I returned to work from 11 months Maternity Leave. I work 19 hours a week for the NHS. I went off sick in the middle of October and as my condition continued to deteriorate. Before I went off sick I went to see my occupational Health Department to advise them of my condition.

I have now been off work for 5 months. In that time the care package that was put into place by my GP has failed to happen due to a catalogue of mistakes and slip ups, none of which are my fault.

I was issued with a formal meeting request to discuss my on going sickness and plans to return at the beginning of Feb with my line manager and an HR rep. I attended this meeting and explained the failings in care and the expectation that the care package was due to be put into place within a couple of weeks and that once this has happened I would feel more able to return to work. Once again the care package failed to happen as the CPN was off sick and I was to wait for her return.

I was called to a second capability meeting at the beginning of March to discuss again sickness and plans to return to work. It was explained that if I fail to return to work at the end of my current sick note I will be called for another meeting to arrange a stage 3 capability hearing ending ultimately in dismissal on ground of ill health.

I am not ready to return to work and yet I do not want to lose my job. I am not a union member and have spoken to ACAS who told me that this is standard. I feel I am being pressurised into returning back to work. I still have recieved none of the support that my GP wishes me to have and now due to budget cutbacks within the NHS the original offer of support can no longer be offered and I have to return to my GP to see where I can go next.

So basically I have waited and waited while near my rock bottom for support from the NHS and because this has not happened, I am no further on with my recovery and now I look to lose my job in the NHS.....I guess thats one way they can save money?!

What can I do?

I am desperately sorry for you but ultimately your employer isn't expected to hold your job open indefinitely.

Have they obtained medical reports from your GP and/ or Occ. Health about your current condition and prospects of returning to work? If not they should certainly do at before dismissing you.

The best thing to help you keep your job would be a medical opinion provided to your employer stating that he/she believes you will be fit for work shortly, or stating some adjustments that could be made to facilitate your return. Is that likely to be possible?

If not, and if there's no prospect of you returning in the near future, you may lose your job unfortunately. :(

Thank you. I guessed that would be the case. While I do understand the need for employers to do this I am probably more upset at the aggressive nature of it.

I am going to see my GP on Friday so I will ask him if writing to my employer would be something he would do.

I fear that if I return too soon then the fragile recovery I have made will come crashing down around me.

Would you consider a gradual, phased return? I was signed off work due to antenatal depression, and had a lot of hassle from my employer to return to work when I wasn't sure I could cope. I went back on a phased return, and found that once I'd made that step back in it was a lot easier than I'd expected it to be. I did end up being signed off again (had an incident happen outside work which brought me crashing back to my lowest ebb) but I found work were far more sympathetic that time as I had made the effort to come back to work.

The timescale isn't particularly aggressive at all, with a month between stages of meeting and not starting anything until you'd been off for a fair while, however it's a bit odd they've not sought medical advice on the prospect of you returning to work, including advice on whether adjustments/a phased return would be good. If they were to dismiss you without seeking that advice and acting on it, I would suggest appealing that.

The amount of long term sick in the NHS is a real problem, not least for the workforce struggling to cover a post which will not be filled as it is not technically vacant. Bank cover is often difficult to provide as many of the jobs are specialised depending on the area they are in.

So you were off for eleven months, went back for two weeks, then went off again for five months? You don't say if you are being paid for your sick leave.

Would a private sector company have been so patient? I think not.

I totally understand why these procedures are in place. I will be returning on a phased return, assuming I do actually get to return. I have seen my occ. health department who have advised me I would professionally negligent if I returned to work at the moment, and I agree.

I guess I am just frustrated at the poor care and support I have received from the NHS. I find this harder to accept considering I work not only within the NHS but also within Adult Mental Health Services. If the support package that was originally offered by consultant was actually put into action back in December then I feel that I would have made enough progress to able to return to work far sooner, based on my previous experiences with PND 8 years ago.

If Occ Health feel you are not fit to return to work yet can they not write to your Manager, at your request, to advise them of this?
Can you not ask to be referred back to the Consultant again given that his "treatment" has not come to fruition?
Can you not join a union now to get some support with this matter? - you would need to ask if they would be prepared to take on your case given that it is on-going prior to you joining. (The RCN is sometimes helpful in these cases).

I guess I am just frustrated at the poor care and support I have received from the NHS.

Without wanting to offend you or detract from the failings you mentioned in your OP, I really really think you need to gain a little perspective on this, and consider what an employer can reasonably be expected to do in these circumstances, and what a private sector employer would have done. I also don't think the timescales are at all 'aggressive', for what it's worth.

Rhinosaurus I read the OP as was granted a year's unpaid leave with her job held open ("to deal with their [her DS] health issues and to give me time to recover"), maternity leave for 11 months, went back for 2 weeks, 5 months signed off.

Perhaps i've understood it wrong?

"Without wanting to offend you or detract from the failings you mentioned in your OP, I really really think you need to gain a little perspective on this, and consider what an employer can reasonably be expected to do in these circumstances, and what a private sector employer would have done."

I don't agree. The OP works within the NHS in a mental health setting. What a private sector employer would have done is only comparable if said private sector employer had a medical care package that was not implemented within that timeframe...

I have seen this in my own trust which is supposedly a "Mindful Employer" with some sort of chartermark for enabling people who are suffering mental ill-health to continue working.. yet colleagues who have had mental health issues don't seem to appear to get much support or understanding or practical adjustments despite the hype, have been subject to bullying and harassment and have had no access to promotional opportunities.

If an NHS Adult Mental Health Service can't get it right, there's really no hope. The failings of private sector employers in this regard are not something to be lauded, nor is treating mental health as serious illness something that is indicative of "patience" or "understanding" - very few people would consider that this timeframe was OTT if the OP had cancer, I'd bet.