Occupation health Medical: Hello All... - Asthma Community ...

Asthma Community Forum

21,824 members24,521 posts

Occupation health Medical

9 Replies

Hello All,

Im currently off sick after an astama attack my employer wants to go for a medical to see if im fit to work?

Ive got my medical on Tuesday 6th December. But Im unsure what its all about??? Can anybody help me please

Thanks Kirstie xx

9 Replies

Hi kirstie,

OH are really nice and on your side.

They will go through your health issues with you and also see if your works are doing everything

for you that they can to help you stay in your job as they have to be seen to make reasonable adjustments for you.

They could ask for them to see your medical records but dont worry,they are on your side and will help

you and not try to loose your job .

Good luck love glynis xxx

Hey kirstie!!

Hope your feeling better now!!

100% agree with Glynis, OH are totally on your side!! Im going through the same process now...or shall i say one more meeting and i should be back at work, feel free to PM if you like!!

Xx

I'm afraid I don't completely agree that OH are completely on your side. They are there to help you stay in work but if they judge that you cannot fulfill your contractual obligations then your employer can say that you are not fit enough to do the work.

It's a long and complicated process for an employer to terminate your contract in this way and they have to do things ""by the book"", your employer also has to take advice on whether there are ""reasonable adjustments"" that they need to make for you to be able to do your work. they are obliged to do this under the equality act. This does help but it doesn't guarantee you a job if you are not fit to do it.

Good luck with your medical, I am also having another appt with occ health on the 8th December.

Feel free to pm me if I can be of any help although I don't log in here all that often!

Feejay

I agree with fee... ... Employers do not want to cause further damages to your health and so to legally protect themselves seek independant medical advice from occy health. Thro questioning and if needed seek further info . To make a decision wether u are fit for work or not .... They may also assess what changes may be done to improve and reduce your sick time whilst still at work ..... However it is up to. Your emPloyer if these changes are reasonable and May not implement them .... occy health may support a claim that ""u are unfit for purpose of employment "" and so dismissed under the capabilities act ..... Even the DDA can't prevent this . Sorrry if it's doom and gloom but I have went thro it .. It is a lengthy process

I'm afraid that I'm another person who has had the experience that Occy Health aren't completely on your side.

I've had really good experiences with occy health where they've helped me with adjusting my working hours to enable me to stay in work. On the other hand, I've been stopped working by occy health for ridiculous amounts of time, and it was completely unjustified (not just in my opinion, my medical team too!). My occy health Dr doesn't seem to understand brittle/severe/difficult asthma which makes this all even more difficult than it needs to be.

From my experience, and experiences from other people I've spoken to, NHS occy health seem to be particularly harsh.

BUT, like I said above, occy health have previously helped me stay in work so it's not all bad. They can be really helpful, so good luck :)

angievere profile image
angievere

My sister has experience of OC and said they have been really nice people BUT she has still ended up being moved to a job she doesnt really want. She was told if she didnt accept the new role the company would probably end up 'letting her go'. She cant afford not to work so has accepted the new job. In the end it's a compromise, I suppose. They have tried to accommodate her but she also has had to give ground.

It's not that they are harsh it's part of their job. Tho the aim is to keep u in work ... It's the aim that this is done in a safe way that ur health is not at risk: if they cannot rule this out then they must say ur unfit .. Otherwise they could face legal action against them ....... Tho I didn't like there decision I had to agree it was the right one .

Occupational health represent employer and employee to find a compromise because a health concern is affecting the way you do your job. This was what I was told when they interviewed me. A physical was done. They had my work attendance/sick records even I was shocked by the amount of days it added up too. They saw I like working and helped me adjust my hours, they helped me keep my job for a few years.

Unfortunately asthma and air conditioning, viruses and colds proved difficult to control and I had to give up working. But was offer early retirement, my employers liked me but I ended up collapsing almost weekly at work in the end. Physically I couldn't do it anymore.

You show them what you can do? Then ask them how they can help you carry out your job?

Gill

Thanks guys thats helpped alot, just got to see them now.

My boss rang me the other day with my new rota trying to help me not be off work... so i now work 6 days stright instead of the 5 i used to work. Where in hell is that gonna help

Will let you all know how it goes and thanks needed to talk to somebody that understands what it is like on a day to day basis working with Astama xxxx

You may also like...

Emergency Medications

stop nasty attacks. The answer was, no, as they did not give out emergency asthma medication as...

Medication Storage Ideas?

of ideas from other countries that create neat medication storage for mostly bottles but in Britain...

medical practice changing my inhaler for no apparent reason

I have just received a text message from my medical practice to say they are changing my inhaler...

Asthma and mental health effects.

taken off all asthma medication. I had no asthmatic symptoms when off the medication and after a few

GP's and medication

ibuprofen! Then I go saying my peak flow is down, Ive been coughing for nearly 4 weeks and I've a...