Your manager should have discussed the reason for the referral with you, and ideally shown you the referral document they have completed. Referral to see or speak to an Occupational Health Practitioner is usually because there are concerns that work could be affecting a member of staff’s health or that a health problem could be affecting an employee’s ability to do their job.
You will be offered an appointment within 10-working days. The initial appointment takes 45-60 minutes and can be in person or by telephone. The Occupational Health Practitioner will assess your fitness to perform the job and prepare an advisory report for your manager
The appointment aims to collect sufficient information to provide an accurate, objective, and useful opinion regarding fitness to perform the job.
You will be asked about your past medical history, current health problem, your life outside of work and any concerns that you may have. You will be asked about the details of your specific job (individual tasks / duties / responsibilities) and what you are exposed to when doing it (physical, emotional, or psychological demands).
As with your GP or hospital medical records no-one outside the Occupational Health Service is entitled to see the medical notes taken during the consultation without your explicit written permission.
We kindly request that you give us as much notice as possible if you cannot attend your appointment so this time can be allocated to someone else.
Should you fail to attend an appointment then an alternative will be offered, and your manager will be informed. If you fail to attend a second time the referrer will be informed but no further appointment offered. OH should be contacted if further advice is required.
The Occupational Health Practitioner will prepare an advisory report for your manager. This report will not usually contain detailed information about your condition or other sensitive personal information. If this is deemed necessary to support you, we will discuss this with you during your appointment, and you can read the report before it is sent to your manager to check for any errors or omissions. The report will not be released without your consent.
The content of a report will depend on the reason for the referral and the specific questions that have been asked in the referral but may include:
Copies of the report will be sent to you, the named manager on the management referral form only and where indicated the relevant HR contact.
It is a legal requirement to ensure that workers are protected from infection by patients dependent on the individual’s role and the risks of exposure that their role may pose. The UKHSA ‘Green Book’ sets out the standards that determine which vaccinations are required for different healthcare workers including non-clinical staff who may come into contact with patients.
