WorkingWell

For (Case) Management Referral Guidance

The Referral

  1. The referring manager should complete the Working Well referral form (provided on our website) as fully as possible.
  2. Please include details of sickness absence and details of the job, attaching a job description if necessary.
  3. The more precise you are about the type of information you require (in the questions section), the easier it is for your Working Well team to provide clear answers.
  4. The referring manager should discuss the reasons for the referral with the employee and give them an opportunity to read the form.
  5. Provide the employee with a copy of the form if they wish.

The Appointment

  1. On receipt of the referral form, the employee will be sent an appointment with an Occupational Health Practitioner, triaged by us to select the most appropriately skilled and experienced individual for the case. This may be an Occupational Consultant Physician, an Occupational Physiotherapy Specialist or an Occupational Health Nurse Specialist. We aim to triage all referrals within two working days of receipt.
  2. Our clinics are provided in a range of locations to offer choice to our clients, however most of our services are held in our main office in Gloucester, or our largest satellite site in Cheltenham. Efforts will be made to make an appointment at the most convenient location for the employee, considering their work and home location.
  3. Home visits are carried out in rare circumstances for those employees who are too unwell to come to one of the clinics.
  4. The employee will be advised of the date, time, location of the appointment and whom it is with. They are given the opportunity to change the appointment if it is inconvenient.
  5. The appointment will be offered as soon as possible but we endeavour to offer an appointment within 10 working days of referral receipt.
  6. The manager will also be informed of the appointment date by copy letter.
  7. Cancellation within 2 working days or failure to attend will incur the full cost of the appointment to the commissioning organisation (employer). It is therefore paramount that if the employee is unable to attend to let us know with at least two working days notice, and also inform their referring manager why the appointment was changed/ cancelled.

The Report

  1. Following the consultation, OH will prepare a report for the manager aiming to answer the questions that have been raised.
  2. The employee will have given consent to this report and the contents of the report will be discussed with the employee first.
  3. The employee will be sent a copy of the report and will also be offered sight of the report first as required by the General Medical Council (GMC). The employee may request alteration of factual information where inaccuracy would have a substantial bearing on the report but cannot request change of opinion. If they disagree with the opinion given they can ask for a paragraph to be added to the report stating that they do not agree with the opinion expressed.
  4. If an employee refuses consent to release the report, then the manager will be advised in writing that they have withheld their consent and it is recommended that any managerial decision is made in the absence of occupational health input. This is not usually in the best interests of the employee.
  5. At times, it will be necessary to seek further information from the employee’s treating doctor before completing the report. If this is the case or the report is to be delayed for any other reason, then the manager will be advised of the delay and the reasons why. Under normal circumstances, reports will be sent from Working Well within 2 working days of the appointment date. The formal agreement of management will be obtained before seeking any additional information that may incur further charge.
  6. If there are any queries about the report, the manager should contact the Case Practitioner for clarification of the content within the report but new information cannot be provided without the employee’s consent.

FurtherAdvice

If you have any questions regarding our Working Well Management Referral Process, please review our leaflets or contact our team on our main office contact details;

08454

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