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Well Issue 3: Autumn/Winter 2003/04

Job Retention
Good Practice in Forth Valley

Encouraging and supporting the development of work on job retention for people who develop mental health problems is an important area for action. Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust introduced a structured rehabilitation programme which provides benefits to both managers and individuals alike.

Partnership involvement was the crucial factor when developing the award-winning Rehabilitation to Work Procedure implemented by the Forth Valley NHS Primary Care Trust.

The FV Primary Care Occupational Health Department is located in the Trust headquarters in Larbert and is responsible for a core staff of 3,000, together with its wider NHS family, which includes GPs, dentists and their staff.

Occupational health manager, Dorothy Bell and her team are committed to helping employees who have been absent from work due to ill health and developed the Rehabilitation to Work Procedure to effectively manage temporary, or short-term alternatives to work, until the employee is able to return to normal duties.

"There were a number of barriers to encouraging employees to return to work after illness," explains Dorothy. "Firstly, if staff came back on a reduced capacity they would only be paid for the hours they worked, or be obliged to use annual leave to make up the difference. This was a disincentive, as they would receive their full salary if they stayed off sick until they were capable of doing their full duties.

"Also, managers were becoming frustrated as they were unable to book agency or bank cover if an employee was back on the duty rota, but only available to undertake some tasks. So everything was against a smooth transition to returning to work at an early date when the employee would be capable of undertaking some, but perhaps not all, of their duties."

Based on her experience of working in industry, Dorothy brought together a number of key players including managers, human resources personnel, staff and trade union representatives and drew up a flexible policy with options that could be tailored to suit the individual member of staff. Earlier this year, the strategy won first prize in the Partnership Information Network Awards, organised by NHSScotland Partnership Information Network.

According to Dorothy, the procedure provides a number of benefits to everyone involved - the individual, their team and the organisation.

"Mental health problems are the second biggest cause of long-term sickness absence in NHSScotland, after musculo-skeletal disorders. So maintaining confidence and well-being is very important and we also aim to help the employee retain their skills and competencies. But we are also demonstrating that the organisation values its employees and the contribution they make. The collaborative approach, however, is essential for the procedure to be effective."

Dorothy Bell
Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust
Tel: 01324 404072
Email:dorothy.bell@fvpc.scot.nhs.uk

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