Occupational Health
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
British (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
This sound bit has been produced by the occupational health and she department to help you to get the most out of the service. When making an occupational health referral, occupational health or oh, provides specialist professional health advice to support individuals and managers. Referral assessments are undertaken by nurses and doctors with additional specialist qualifications in providing workplace health advice. A really key point to remember is that our reports and recommendations are advisory only and oh, do not make management decisions. Remember? Oh, advise, but you decide. So how do you make a referral? Oh, referrals can be made via the management referral form on the oh site. The link is on the internet on receipt of your referral. A clinician will triage the case based on the information you have provided. So it's really important to think about what it is. You want to know the referral is your opportunity to provide? Oh, with relevant background information and the questions you'd like advice on avoid the temptation to write reams and reams though as the key points might be missed. So keep it succinct please. We cannot overemphasize the importance of early intervention and early referral individuals do not need to wait until they are symptom free or 100% fit before coming back to work as returning to work and normal activity is part of the rehabilitation and recovery process. Early intervention is particularly recommended to support mental health and musculoskeletal disorders. Creating the referral. You will only be able to see management referrals which you have made and no one else apart from oh, can see your referrals. There are restrictions in the system preventing oh, information being widely shared among members of a team or multiple managers. Oh, information should only be shared on a need to know basis. Please check when you are picking up names that you pick the correct employee or manager. There may be more than one person in the organization with the same name. It is very important to double check this as if the wrong person is entered. It could result in a data breach. If you want the report to be shared with other managers, you can include up to two additional names, but the report will only be shared with them if the employee consents. So what are the referral? Do s do provide as much information as you can but keep it succinct. This is your opportunity to outline the issue and ask for advice. Do involve the individual in the referral process. It's a supportive intervention and transparency benefits, communication. In fact, we cannot process a referral if you have not shared the content with the individual. Do ensure that all fields on the referral are accurately completed, particularly if they are absent from work, do identify and highlight any key risks or hazards associated with the role such as manual handling or hard armed vibrations, et cetera. Do provide information on the individual's absence, history, including patterns or trends you may have noticed do provide details of any adjustments or support that has already been provided including information on what has or hasn't worked. Do make it clear if there are certain adjustments you will not be able to accommodate. Do include any information on influencing factors such as performance issues, grievances or organizational changes. Do have a think about what it is that you hope to gain an understanding of. If there are specific questions you want answers to, please ensure that these are stated clearly, either ticking one of the standard questions or by writing your own further questions should be carefully considered in terms of what actions you will take as a result of the overloading the form with questions, results in less time for the clinician to speak to the employee and get a full understanding of their situation to be able to advise you the referral. Don't, don't ask for off the record advice. Don't forget that individuals are entitled to a copy of the referral form. Don't include information on the referral about third parties. Don't ask specific management or non health related questions. We provide health related fitness for work advice and not direct advice on how to manage an employee. Remember, oh, advise you decide. Don't ask for clarification on policy or procedures. Although hr may be able to assist with this. If you'd like advice on making a referral, please do contact. Oh, for advice. So you've made your referral. What happens next? Your referral will be triaged in oh, within 24 hours. If the clinician is able to give you advice and not think an appointment is required, you will receive a written response with advice back if an appointment is required, oh, will arrange this and you will be advised of the times. Once the clinician has seen your employee and has consent to do so, they will send you a report. The report may include whether or not the person is fit for work or if not an explanation as to why this cannot be answered, an estimate of when a return to work might be expected and a prognosis, what perceived or real obstacles there are that might be causing a barrier to work and what impact medical condition has on work performance. It may also include workplace adjustments or restrictions and if asked an opinion on whether the disability provisions of the Equality Act 2010 may apply. Although this is ultimately a legal decision, what you shouldn't see in an oh report are one sided opinions or views unsubstantiated or non evidence based advice, review appointments being advised without a clear rationale and prescriptive adjustments or statements. So you've received the advice report, what now it's for the manager to decide what can and cannot be reasonably accommodated to justify any lack of inaction or action. If the health issues are long term, you might want to complete an adjustment passport with the individual. If you're still not sure how to proceed, you can contact the clinician that took the assessment or contact. Oh, you could consider a case conference if you are stuck as how to proceed, this should include the individual, the manager hr and oh, if necessary and led by the manager or hr there's a lot more information on the oh internet pages or the she management system.