Hi all.
I've been working through the pandemic in a hospital and was really feeling the effects of stress and burnout. About 2 months ago I caught Covid and was off for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately two weeks after going back to work, I've injured my back. I've seen a physiotherapist who thinks it's likely a muscle issue (or less likely a bulging disk). They suggested to get a fit note from the GP as it would need time to heal.
The problem is affecting my left lower back, left leg and foot. There was no one incident that I could say had caused it but I often get back pain at work. I stretch and do pilates to try to manage this. Unfortunately I woke up with it much worse the day I went off sick. I went into work and began my day but had to go home due to pain which had become excruciating and affected my walking despite over-the-counter pain relief.
I'm starting to feel a lot better and want to go back soon but I'm a little worried about the long term and the problem reoccurring. My 3 week fit note runs out in 1 week however I have thought about going back early ...
In order to do this, I need to raise some conducive points to try to avoid it happening again. Is it unreasonable to broach the following:
- Phased return and light duties until I've settled back into the job?
Unfortunately after Covid no adjustments were discussed or made.
- I usually work with an assistant who helps with the procedures. We are currently very short staffed and I had occasionally been working without them. My counterpart has texted me during my absence to say he has refused to work without an assistant on the grounds of safety. I was previously worried that my license would be jeopardised if I refused to treat patients but would I also like to take this stance without being troublesome or causing more tension. I have not contacted the union/council to discuss any of this yet and was hoping it would not come to this.
- The entire team's manual handling mandatory training is out of date. All face to face training has been cancelled due to the pandemic. I had done the theoretical side of it but I would like to have a practical refresher if possible.
I'm also not sure what to say to Occupational Health as although my career is impacting my wellbeing and physical health, no 'accident' has occurred and I don't want to make relations worse with the directors of the department.
Other things I was considering were reducing hours or changing job. Both of these would have a negative financial impact within the short term as well as being somewhat difficult. They would also compound and exacerbate the problems within my current department.