Any advice for occupational health apt?
I was diagnosed with RRMS a few months ago and started kesimpta, which is now down to monthly for however long. I’m a nurse and through out the process had been honest with my manager and informed her in person as soon as I was told myself.
She didn’t really respond other than to say to ask for help if I needed it and carry on as far as possible. I’ve fully performed my role, despite struggling to at times (mostly through fatigue and kesimpta side effects from initial doses), as she has made further suggestions over the time, splitting up my shifts, not doing certain parts of my role that are very physical and eventually she said she would like to put in a occupational health referral to make sure everything was done safely, which I agreed to.
However, she then didn’t actually do it and I’ve subsequently been off sick- though this is not related to MS symptoms, it’s due to stress - complex bereavement and 2 of my 3 children suffering mental health crisis - only after I had been off a week did she put the referral in.
Consequently I feel like it’s a bit like punishment, it doesn’t matter as long as it doesn’t affect staffing. I realise OH is a good idea to have all the boxes ticked but I feel like it’s going to be focused on this episode of sickness which is not MS related, though I don’t deny it has contributed.
Thanks so much for reading this far! Any suggestions on what I should be asking or making sure of? And how to maintain focus on why I was originally referred? I feel like I could end up being rude because of the circumstances!
Thanks 😊
Don't be rude. OH are on your side, not your manager's. I would say I'm off sick due to complex bereavement etc. but the reason for this referral and the major thing I want to talk about is my recent diagnosis of MS. You kind of need to go in there with an agenda. What do you want? What will keep you working - and safe? - Are there aspects of the job you struggle with? Discuss them. Suggest solutions and you'll probably need to come up with these for the most part - split shifts, reallocation of duties. Do you want to discuss part-time or change of role? - As MS is a disability, time off for treatment, hospital appts or investigation (MRI), is well established in case law and you can ask for this. Sometimes absences due to disability can be discounted from being considered as sick leave. This is a bit iff-ier because if you miss large amounts of work, you can still be dismissed on grounds of capability. Good luck.