Occupational Health

What is Occupational Health?

Occupational Health (OH) is a service provided to all staff at the Sheffield College offering independent medical advice and guidance on managing the health of staff specifically focusing on the effects of health on work and work on health. Occupational Medicine centers around the management of illness, injury or disability that is related to the workplace and operate as a diagnostic service. 

What services can I access through our Occupational Health Provider?

Please see below information on a variety of services we can access to support you.  Please contact the People team or talk to your line manager to request further information on how to access these services:

-Rightsteps Menopause 5 week-course: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) solution for people experiencing problematic symptoms of the menopause, such as hot flushes and night sweats.
-CBT, EDMR and Specialist Counselling PAM Wellbeing can provide managed mental health referrals to support individuals with specialised therapy outside of the EAP. Please see below leaflet.
-Active Care Call Day 1 Intervention for stress &/or anxiety (offered by our EAP provider) Provides a welfare support to you by a qualified nurse and advice is provided to your line manager on the first day of absence. 
-Neurodiversity Workplace assessment support: a specialist workplace needs assessment exploring the requirements of the your job role, the barriers and strengths you experience as a part of your role. You would then receive an informative and clear report which would include the strengths and barriers, along with strategies currently in place.
-Ergonomics/Workstation & Specialist Needs (SpLD) services and specialist ergonomics equipment

What is the purpose of a referral?

OH will assess your health and whether this may have an impact on your ability to carry out your day-to-day duties and/or your ability to sustain a regular attendance at work. A referral to OH also gives you the opportunity to talk over, in confidence, any concerns that you may have about your health in relation to work with an experienced OH practitioner. The purpose of the OH referral is to obtain a professional medical report to advise on:

• Confirming diagnosis and prognosis

• Current fitness to work and timescales of a possible return to work

• Likelihood of a re-occurrence or a further absence

• Capability to return to current role or advice on suitable alternative roles.

Why has my manager referred me?

There are many reasons why your manager may have referred you to OH and should have discussed these prior to a referral being made. An OH referral is a supportive measure in order to seek professional advice on how best to support you at work e.g. gain a better understanding of your condition, help improve your levels of attendance, help support you back into work etc. 

Mood Self Assessment 

The OH Adviser will conduct a Mood Self Assessment with you if you are experiencing anxiety, depression, stress (work-related or not) or low mood. This is a NHS test which will assess an individuals mental well-being. There are 18 questions altogether. With each one, you'll need to think about how you've been feeling over the past 2 weeks. This self assessment can give you advice on the severity of your mental health problem. The OH Adviser will regularly use this assessment to see if your mental well-being is improving during review appointments. 

Sign Posting to Services Across the Region

The OH Adviser will be able to sign post you to the relevant services within the Sheffield City Region including internal support to help improve your mental well-being. The OH Adviser will be able to understand your condition and give you information on therapies and coping strategies that could help improve your mental well-being. An OH appointment could be the first step in understanding what personal help and support you need.