Hi peeps 😎 A lovely sunny day here in the South East of England.
I have finally had a phone call from occupational health about going to an appointment. I've lost the info (it's been so long) so...what do I need to do to prepare for my trip there next week?
☺
Hello Moomin8
Occupational health is my lifeline as I am finishing my first week of p/t work. Their job is to support you, so as long as you are honest with them everything will go smoothly.
Occupational health might already have your medical file on you through your work....Having said that, if you don't trust your boss, I would bring a letter from your doctor and all paperwork you have on your illness.
I wish you the best and please don't worry. Occ Health is your friend 
Be honest with them. They are there to help you. Just make sure that you see the report before they send it to your boss. It is your right.
Good luck.
Jacqui
I have found my occupational health nurse to be very supportive and she has been like a rock whilst I have had issues in work with various accessibility problems and reducing my working hours (my choice). As others have said, be open and honest and give as much info as you can about your condition. My occ health nurse advised me that the more info they have, the better they are at being able to help. Hope everything goes ok for you 😊
So...can they suggest my hours get reduced? I can't afford to reduce them 😐
Are you on any disability plan at the moment Moomin8?
If you are, then disability will pay you for the time not worked and your job pays for your hours worked.
I don't live in the UK, but maybe this could help you?
disabilityrightsuk.org/advo...
And yes they can suggest reduced hours. If your company doesn't have disability insurance, then they can still help you work full time. They do this by giving you what you need to work. A certain chair, key board etc. anything that will help you.
Please know that thier job is to help you.
Thank you ☺I don't have any disability plan. I can't think of anything which would help me at work either to be honest 🤔
If your job isn't suitable for someone with RA and there is no aids to help, then you could be moved to another department. Is there other departments in the company that you work for?
Hi. In my situation my sick record was quite bad and it was mentioned to me for me to think about. It was my decision to reduce my hours purely based on the fact that the fatigue was so bad, I wasn't able to do the things which would help me preserve what I have like physio exercises and just having a work-life balance. Luckily for me, I could afford it. It didn't impact my salary as much as I thought it would to be honest. I was no way pressured about the reduction though. My thought process was that I wanted to continue working and if I had stayed working full time, I wouldn't have been able to work for very long before burning myself out. Have a chat with the occ health and see what they suggest - we are all so different even though we may have the same or similar health condition. Hope it goes ok 😊
Unfortunately, not quite the same here 🤔
I have telephone appointments with occupational heath. They usually ask how I am feeling , if any medication changes, if I have any appointments arranged and if so which department and what for. They ask how I am finding work and if any adjustments in place. They can recommend adjusting sickness trigger points and workload but it's up to your employer whether they act on recommendations. Good luck. Keep us updated. X
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