Sickness absence
Introduction
Requests for advice regarding sickness absence may come from various sources:
- The worker/patient
- A doctor looking after him/her
- The employer
Requests for advice may be directed to:
- The General Practitioner
- A hospital based doctor
- An occupational physician
- Other health care workers in occupational health and elsewhere
Problem solving
What is the problem?
- This may sound obvious but is not necessarily always the case. Besides explicit concerns, there may be hidden ones...
What information is needed to address the problem?
- Information about the health status of the worker/patient, based from history or other sources
- Information about the workplace and the job: The requirements for fitness and the possible effects of work on health, since this may be a significant contributor to the sickness absence or a hindrance to successful return to work
- What about the sickness absence policy, other implications for the worker/patient?
- What about prospects for rehabilitation (this might need to be considered in much more detail later)?
Important questions to answer:
- Likely duration of absence
- Residual disability
- Implications for future work performance, attendance and safety
- Need for workplace improvements
- Rehabilitation and/or redeployment
- Possible occupational causation of ill-health
Outcome and audit
The individual case
- Make a plan for closing the loop - and checking on outcome: Perhaps getting the patient/worker to 'phone you back. What if s/he does not?
Your overall performance:
References
- Practical Occupational Medicine
- Agius RM, Seaton A, Lee RJ. Audit of sickness absence and fitness-for-work referrals. Occup Med 1995; 45: 125-30.
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