hello all. I had an HA followed by emergency stent work - balloon angioplasty in early December after A&E trip (in hospital for 7 days). Am recovering but still suffer pain that gets better with paracetamol at the moment.
My work are setting up an occupational health meeting but I don’t feel ready to return to work. I have no idea whether they’ll encourage me to return or can I say ‘not ready?’
Company is good and have a good income protection benefit. I have good days and difficult days/moments. When I do try and have a day or normal activities I can get very tired and have more pain. Concerned about the expectation that I should be ‘going back’ as has been 3 months already.
Am signed off until end of March and just started cardia rehab last week. Have therapy starting end of March too. Any experiences will help me with the anxiety I feel about the returning to a job role that was (in part) a couple tribute g factor to my HA.
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WanderingWycombe
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I asked my GP for another 3 months off work which he gave me immediately. I informed my doctor I needed the time to complete my heart rehab, embed positive changes to my lifestyle and recover 100% physically and mentally before returning to work. I did receive 100% of my wages for 6 months. I am happy to report after 6 months off work I was fit to go back full time.
That’s really good to know. I asked for an extension and the GP only gave me a month which was a little surprised at. I only rally started my recovery mid January and I’ll always have an issue due to complications but glad to hear that you felt a lot better after 6 months.
I asked for the 3 month extension. I had an emergency quad bypass which was a shock as no symptoms, I thought I had fainted, but turned out it was a heart attack and had the op a few days later. It took me 6 months to get over the shock! All the best for your recovery.
Hi. I work in HR and deal with OH referrals on a daily basis. The purpose of seeing OH is not to encourage anyone to come back to work before they are ready to, but is to inform the employer on the likelihood of a return to work in the near future, or any adjustments that could be made to facilitate a return, such a reduced hours, amended duties, working from home if feasible etc. I’d encourage you to be honest with OH about how you feel, and any physical and mental health impacts, but also familiarise yourself with your company’s absence management procedure to understand their escalation points/triggers for moving to a capability process.
This is really helpful. Thank you. I do have a question that you may be able to answer with an HR background. One of the leading factors to my HA was a very stressful role with inadequate staff and resources (doing on the cheap if you like ) where I had to carry the vast burden.
Is this something that I need to bring up with OH? As moving forward the idea of doing 60 hour weeks, living off 5+ lattes a day, poor diet (stress eating) and very little time for exercise etc coupled with huge peaks of stress followed by an expectation to ‘keep doing more’ / victim of your own success etc makes me really anxious after having an event that could have killed me.
Hi. You can certainly raise it with OH, but remember that their role is to give medical advice relating to your health/fitness to work. In relation to diet, caffeine intake etc. they’ll likely signpost you to some healthy eating, managing stress etc. tools. As to whether or not your role is under-resourced, they can of course relay in their report that you feel this contributed to your health issues, and whilst they may make recommendations to your employer to conduct a stress risk assessment with you, they will not ordinarily have any influence on staffing levels. If you’re routinely working 60+ hours a week the most appropriate person to raise this with is your line manager and HR team, I assume that you’re not contracted to work such hours?
No, the hours were needed to boot strap a brand new role and they now assume that I’ll continue that way of working but after an HA I just can’t. Is a tricky one but need to put myself first with regards to my health.
There is almost four full weeks until the end of March, so you have this time to continue with your recovery and you might well feel different then and be able to return to work in a reduced capacity or even a full time role again. However a meeting with Occupational Therapy would seem a little premature at the moment, although you do need to keep your employer informed of how you are getting on, without it becoming burdensome for you. Otherwise my take is that your employer should not be pressurising you whilst you are signed off since that may well prove to be counter productive for both of you. But if you don't feel fit enough towards the end of the month I would have thought you need to discuss that with your GP earlier rather than later to negotiate a further extension and keep your employer at bay.
I had OHS and was off work for about 12 weeks after that. I then had a phased return over 6 weeks building up my hours again with a weekly review to check progress. Once back at full time hours I found I was still getting too tired so I reduced to 4 days for a 3 month trial period (having a day off in the middle) and then this became permanent as it was what worked for me. I plan my work load to help manage fatigue and try not to do long journeys - I have a risk assessment in place which notes various measures I feel help me and this is reviewed as needed. I still get tired if I overdue things and it's important that these measures are in place. My work have been understanding.
OH are part of a process. They will be led by you. They are there to help you with what you feel you need. They can’t go against the GP. Just before your sick note runs out Tell the GP You need another one and tell him how long for. After my heart stuff I was determined I was going back to work but I didn’t and it was the best decision that I made. It took my taking all the sick leave I was allowed to adjust to the new me both mentally and physically. I then told work that the so called reasonable adjustments were unsuitable. Good luck
I had a HA and stenf fitted Dec 2023 and I didnt return to work til April 2024. If youbgo back too early youll only end up needing time off again probably like i did as it was too early for me.
Work made adjustments for me, lighter duties, reduced hours, until i felt i was able to resume my normal duties and hours. This wasnt until about September for myself.
Everybody is different. I had my STEMI and five stents fitted last May '24. I was off work for eight months whilst I recovered. I had no problems getting sick notes from my doctor, as I had not been discharged from Cardiac Rehabilitation during that time. I had a meeting with Occupational Health and they supported me fully. Once discharged from rehab' back to my doctor, (just a month ago), I went back to work (part-time). Some days are harder than others, but mentally, I feel better being back at work, taking my mind off things. I just make sure I pace myself sensibly and take a short rest if I need it. Work are supportive of this. The point I'm making is - listen to your body. You will know when you feel well and strong enough to go back to work. And when you do, make sure it's as a 'phased return', Give yourself time to get back into the routines at your own pace. Good luck.
Your works OH Dept has a job to do. They are there to help you. To make sure you are receiving all the support you need. They will listen to your concerns and any questions you may have. Remember they are not the enemy. As for GP only signing you off for one month, doesn't mean they will not sign you off for another period of time. Your recovery is a priority and OH and GP are aware of that. So take a step at a time, breath, and all will be fine.🤗
I can relate closely to this conundrum and stress. I too feel elements of my job led to my health issues. I have just begun a phased return after my heart op in early January 2025, more because I'd felt I'd used up enough time and goodwill of my employer, a sort of implied pressure to go back but truthfully I don't feel fully well yet to go back into what is a well known stressful environment and naturally I'm worried about the consequences therein IE having another HA at work. I had an occupational health meeting over the phone and things were agreed to in that meeting and a report written and send to my then line manager. Now I wished I'd have asked for a copy of that report which in it recommended that I don't return to the shop floor till May however a new manager is now challenging this and wants me back much sooner. It's difficult to stand you're ground when a) you're still not well and b) perhaps feel by 3 months you SHOULD be back to normal and feel a bit guilty that you're not. I'm not the most insistent/belligerent individual in these situations, in contrast many of my colleagues have absolutely no issue in pushing the boundaries in this regard and by and large they get what they want for example maximum entitlement to maternity/paternity leave + annual leave means they can be off work for 14months or more and still receive full pay.
So, if you're able, dig your heels in ,tell them how you're feeling, what you feel you can/can't do and maybe reach a compromise via an independent third part/advocate,remind them (should such a thing needed to be reminded) that returning to work after a heart operation needs to be carefully judged and managed to be able to work safely and sensibly.
I think you went to work too soon. My GP does not let anyone to return to work for at least 3 months after ohs. But then every operation and and every person is different. When i was working my peers who had ohs did not return to work for 6 months. I've had my operation last september so it has been 6 months for me as well but i am retired now if i hadn't this will be time for me to consider returning to work as i started feelin better now although i still get pains on my left. The cold or wet weather makes in worse. Mentally i think it will take some more time to build confidence.
I was signed of for a total of 2 months before I went back to work. Even then it was not full-time, more of a phased back to work, with occupational guidance. So it was half days with increases by half days until normal hours reached.
During staying at home I had input from cardiac rehab group with a nurse, once a week for an hour. This was to educate and talk about how to get better and any other issues, meds, diet etc. There was an initial assessment to this group in the beginning and at the end of the session.
I didn't work in HR but was involved in attendance management and case reviews with Occupational Health so have an understanding as to what is possible and how I have managed cases in the past, albeit in the public sector with what I consider to be one of the best policies and procedures and general employment terms (I am probably biased as they employed me for 42 years). Your local managers should have been keeping in touch to see how you are getting on, and you may possibly have had informal reviews. Occupational Health will work with management to ensure you don't come back too soon or do too much - they are the experts and we would always consider their recommendations. I would expect that you would be offered a graduated return to work, either shorter hours and/or less days a week and/or less exacting duties with a plan to gradually build up to full duties or consider alternative roles if your substantive role is too demanding. If you have a Trades Union representative keep them informed as they will be able to assist you. If you are invited to a Case Conference don't get concerned, these are intended for yourself, Management and Occupational Health to devise a mutually agreeable plan to return you to the workplace. You can bring your TU rep or a workplace colleague along to support you as well - I highly recommend that you do so. At the end of the day, it is in everyone's interest that you can return to work in a way and role that will not create further health problems in the future. I wish you a full recovery and hope that this helps to reassure you.
Hi, I had a HA and angioplasty, middle of January, I've had 5 weeks off and just returned to work, 24 hours, on phased return. I did have OHS in 2018 and took 12 weeks off at that time. I do get alot of support at work and I do pace myself when I am there. During the phased return period I am encouraged to speak up to say how I am coping and adjustments made if needed. My issue after these events are psychological, anxiety and just getting back on track with day to day life, i do find this time that fatigue catches up with me, more so than last time, but im just taking each day at a time. I don't think one size fits all, it's just when you feel ready, psychologically as well as physically. Take care x
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