Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

Can Occupational Health where I work (in NHS) make HR find me a more suitable job so it doesnt affect health?

I am talking about mental health. I have only been here a few weeks. I am working on reception which makes my anxiety and depression worse. I went to the Occupational Health counsillor yesterday. I do not want to quit. I just don't want to work in reception. I also could have put up with it until the boss told me it does not look good to look so anxious on reception. I cannot help how my emotions go.

Public Comments

1. You give no details of the work and why it is affecting your health so no reliable answer can be given.But broadly speaking no job you do should be detrimental to your health.
2. Hello, (ANS) No.1 I worked for 6years in a large NHS teaching hospital. In my opinion the role of occupational health is to take care of you in your present job. To ensure you are able & capable of doing your job from a health point of view. The health of NHS staff in NHS jobs. For example, if you were say an Orthopedic surgeon then OH is obliged to ensure ALL your Hep B & Hep C jabs are up to date so you don't infect patients. Or if you were working as a CPN then OH would make sure you were getting enough counseling yourself and to keep an eye on your mental health,etc. No.2 Its NOT the role of OH to advise you on which job you should be doing or not doing. If you think your health is being badly effected in some way by your work role inside the NHS then that's an HR issue. This should first be taken up with your present line manager to explore what options might exists in your current circumstances i.e. could you work different shifts for instance. Failing this then take the matter to the HR dept secondly to see if other roles or options are available. Kind Regards from Ivan Ex Database administrator ITU, SJUH.
3. If they were sympathetic, they might offer you something else, but if you cannot handle the job you were hired for, then you have to accept it is solely your problem.
4. It's my understanding, as a layperson, that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is supposed to allow an individual in the workplace or school setting to get 'reasonable accommodations' (such as a separate room to complete paperwork/notes or allowing an extra break) if the person has some type of physical or mental health problem. However, if the request for accommodations (by health care professional) puts 'undue hardship' on the company or agency, they don't necessarily have to 'accommodate' that person. I can certainly empathize with you about having anxiety and depression as I deal with those very same issues (and take the ssri/selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant prozac weekly, the time-released prozac and receive counseling :) The reception area is usually at the forefront of the establishment, and as a person who also suffers from social anxiety, it would be very uncomforable to work in that particular position with so many people and personalities to deal with. Perhaps you can talk with your immediate supervisor or even someone in HR about other viable options within the facility, however, I don't believe (still as a layperson ;) that they are required to place you elsewhere due to a health problem. Please note that when revealing a physical and/or mental health problem to a person or within the workplace, that it may open the door for others to make quick judgments about the person albeit we are not supposed to judge others, just between us and the wall :) (P.S. A couple of resources for more info on anxiety and depression, respectively: Anxiety Disorders Association of America http://www.adaa.org and Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance http://www.dbsalliance.org They should have info regarding the illnesses and possible local support groups.)