Occupational Health

[Munjeeta]

Hello all. Once again, apologies for not being around much recently. Work has been manic.

I have posted LOTS of times before about struggling to juggle diabetes and teaching successfully. It came to a head last week and I almost resigned from my job. I didn't though, due to talking things through with my headteacher. She said that there were a number of support plans to implement before having to resign. One of which was an occupational health service. I was wondering if anyone has had any dealings with occupational health and if so what kind of support they can offer? I have hit a brick wall.

 

[Tezzz]

I'm sorry to hear you have been having problems at work.

Occupational Health can be good or bad.

The ones that are at my employers are fantastic and are not scared to tell the management what they should be doing for their staff.

I would use them to your advantage. Personally, I would play the disability discrimination card as a last resort.

I hope things work out for you soon.

 

[AlisonM]

We had a conversation like this not long ago and I'm sure there was one of our members who had been through it. I can't recall who it was though, hopefully they'll see your question soon.

Can you give us a bit more detail of what's been happening? I'm sorry if you've done it before but I think it might help us understand the issues you're facing which in turn might help us give better advice and support.

 

[randomange]

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time

I've just changed positions in my lab, which meant I had to go through the occ health thing again. In my department they're pretty good, and it basically involved an interview (in my case over the phone), where they ask a bit about your diabetes and how you manage it, and what kind of work you do, and how the two things affect one another. They asked if I needed anything to help me do my job effectively, and they've put a note in my file saying that I need to be able to have breaks when required to eat, test my blood sugar, deal with hypos etc, and it also says that I should be given time off if required to attend clinic appointments.

I didn't really need anything from them, but I got the impression that they could help out if I was having issues. Would any of that help you out?

 

[Freddie99]

Hello Munjeeta,

For myself (ironically working in a hospital) I have been told by the ladies down there if I begin to have issues regarding the diabetes I am to speak to them and they will do as much as they can to help me out. For example when I qualify that would mean if things were bad they would put the stop on me doing nights or late shifts. Basically you have nothing to lose talking to them so just give it a go. For me it was obligatory and it's proved to be helpful.

Tom

 

[Caroline Wilson]

I have been through occupational health and saw the doctor.

Be honest with them and answer all their questions. I found it quite helpful to make a list of all my concerns, it made a difference to the way I was treated. They then sent a report into my employer, who than had to accomodate my needs.

I also had a work place assesment done as I sometimes work on my own andmore reccomendations were made.

I'm sure everything will work out for the best. Like Tez, I wouldn't play the disability card, but it is there if you need it.

 

[Munjeeta]

Ah... Thank you 🙂

Tez & Caroline: what exactly is the disability discrimination whatsit? I don't feel discriminated against, I just feel that I am struggling to juggle work and well-controlled blood sugars. Occupational health and disability discrimination are 2 separate things? What's the difference?

Alison: My struggles come from the fact that work takes over my life. I enjoy it but really struggle during the school day to have the clarity of thought to focus on my blood sugars when I have 29 children who all need my attention. Also the stress of the job (again, not always negative, adrenalin maybe) really affects my blood sugars. To the point that over the course of the week I can eat the same foods, take the same insulin but have completely different blood sugars. I have noticed it recently whereby my morning blood sugars on weekends have been 4-5 and my waking sugars in the week have ranged between 17 and 21 - not a good start to any day.

I think I will pursue the occupational health route, anything they can do would be appreciated... Randomange, I guess the regular breaks thing applies already, although break duties and whatnot I struggle with because I don't get time to check my blood sugars. Time to deal with hypos would be useful as I tend to have to down a carton of juice and walk around my classroom nibbling digestives if it happens mid-lesson! The kids are very used to it now... 🙂

 

[Rainbow]

Hi Munjeeta,

I myself requested a chat with occupational health when I was struggling. I'm a teacher too. They were very supportive and so was my head when it came to the point of me considering to leave teaching all together. They asked me lots of questions about my job and then about my diabetes and then they put the two together to discuss how certain aspects of my day made my diabetes more difficult to predict and manage.

If I remember rightly, stress is a big trigger for you. I was completely honest, as after all they are desperate to keep teachers these days and not see you leave the proffession, they should be willing to work with you to help.

The conclusion for me was that I'm allowed and extra 15 mins for my lunch at a regular time, ie if theyre looking for someone to take on extra duties and classes at that time I'm not approached to cover. If I need longer for any reason then I just ok with the head or line manager.

I'm allowed time out of the class to test and treat hypos if neccesary. I used to grab a minute in a walk in cupboard and try and carry on. I have a teaching assistant assigned to come to me should I need to leave the class.

If my working day is to change I'm always called in the evening by a senior member of staff so I can make adjustments for the next day if needed. (I work in a special school so my day can be very unpredictable)

As for stress, I was offered a change of class initially but I wasn't keen on that as I thought it may be seen as a way to say I was unfit for the job. My head agreed to allow team teaching at difficult times and this additional member of staff has helped my stress. This is reviewed on a termly basis.

A small team of willing colleagues were visited by my DSN to discuss hypo treatments and diabetes management in general so they could fully understand how living and working with the condition affects me and why getting it right is such a big deal and not me just wanting special treatment and an excuse to get out of doing certain things.

My diabetes team were very supportive and we worked hard together to controll my diabetes but we both agreed that MDI were no longer able to offer me the flexibility and control I deserved. I began using a pump three weeks ago, and although I'm yet to get things spot on I know that with lots of work it will offer me that flexibility to manage my lifestyle with less anxiety. Most of my stress was from my diabetes than my job if I look at in detail.

Sorry for going on about me when this is about you, please don't see meeting with OH as something negative. Be honest and work with them. Involve your healthcare team too as together you should be able to work something out to benefit your health and quality of life in the long term.

 

[Tezzz]

Basically, in a sentence, the Disability Discriminaton Act means that employers have to make reasonable adjustments for employees with a disability. Diabetes is one of the disabilities mentioned in the act.

For example an employer makes reasonable adjustments by changing an employees shifts so they can go to diabetes related appointments without having to take unpaid time off.

 

[Munjeeta]

Thanks for clearing that up, Tez! 🙂

And wow... Rainbow, thank you so much for that! That's exactly the sort of stuff I needed to know... This has all culminated from me getting to breaking point and telling my headteacher I'm considering resigning. And I also had an appointment today and getting a pump is looking 99% definite. I will keep in mind all the little points you've made as so many of them would help me no end. Part of me does wonder though why it's taken 3 years of me struggling and in the end feeling I had no other option than to resign to finally be offered this?!

 

[Rainbow]

Youre very welcome indeed. Pleased I can help.
I'm pleased you're going to be able to use a pump. I had to wait six months from initial contact with my consultant to starting using it. I kept my headteacher in the loop right from the beginning, even before I had been given approval for a pump. I felt this was showing them I was pro active and trying to work with them regarding management of my diabetes. You will need to test like never before so it would be good to get something in place regarding time to test long before so when it happens it is one less thing for you to worry about. Pumping is hard work initially and I have been quite strssed at times (a lot of the time actually!) so support and understanding from your colleagues will be vital. You will have to take time out for extra appointments too. Try and get all these things in place now so your transition to pumping will be less of a worry.

Take advantage of the OH services available to you. Take Care and keep us posted on your progress Sue 🙂

 

[Smit]

Hi,
I was the one who posted about OH a few weeks back. Funnily enough I am also a teacher having a not so great time with diabetes 🙂 I can't really discuss in and outs of my issue just now, to scared to as its all coming to a head shortly. But feel free to private message me. I have not had my occupationl health visit yet. Was unsure if i wanted to go, but after chatting on here decided it was for the best. x

 

[getcarter76]

Hiya...and i was the one that posted about the disability act at work and diabetes etc.

In addition i know where i work that occi health are really very good and not just with regards to 'disabilities' but for all manner of things.

As someone else said, it depends on your work but by the sounds of it, as a teacher, i am sure your OH would be pretty good.

As for diabetes and disability act its contraversial! But as Tez said to use it as a last resort as diabetes is covered. My problem arose years ago when i had to attend a retinopathy appointment and i was told i wasn't allowed time off 😡 The following year i asked again about this and did a bit of research explaining the situation with a bit more force! Low and behold i was told i was covered to do this in works time (due to working full time). I think it all goes down to the fact that as a diabetic we all look 'normal' (hate that word) but our bodies internally are caput!

I can always try and dig out any relevant info you require and if i find it i'll post it on here.

Give the OH a go in anycase, it may help no end and it seems that the suggestion is a supportive one rather than just saying yes leave.

Good luck...

Bernie x 🙂

 

[Munjeeta]

Youre very welcome indeed. Pleased I can help.
I'm pleased you're going to be able to use a pump. I had to wait six months from initial contact with my consultant to starting using it. I kept my headteacher in the loop right from the beginning, even before I had been given approval for a pump. I felt this was showing them I was pro active and trying to work with them regarding management of my diabetes. You will need to test like never before so it would be good to get something in place regarding time to test long before so when it happens it is one less thing for you to worry about. Pumping is hard work initially and I have been quite strssed at times (a lot of the time actually!) so support and understanding from your colleagues will be vital. You will have to take time out for extra appointments too. Try and get all these things in place now so your transition to pumping will be less of a worry.

Take advantage of the OH services available to you. Take Care and keep us posted on your progress Sue

Thanks Sue. I am aware the pump will be a lot of work, but I really feel I've run out of options. MDI doesn't give me the flexibility I need; I'm pretty sure I need different rates of basal at different times of the day which I think is something only a pump would enable. My headteacher has said that my PPA time can be taken offsite and used for appointments. Is this acceptable or should I be allowed additional time? This is where I get confused as to what I'm actually within my rights to ask for... I'm actually hoping to get my pump during the summer holidays to give me the time to invest in it.

I am currently keeping detailled diaries of everything I do in the attempt that this will help my cause.

And to be fair I'm not sure it's possible to be more stressed than I have been this academic year...

Hi,
I was the one who posted about OH a few weeks back. Funnily enough I am also a teacher having a not so great time with diabetes I can't really discuss in and outs of my issue just now, to scared to as its all coming to a head shortly. But feel free to private message me. I have not had my occupationl health visit yet. Was unsure if i wanted to go, but after chatting on here decided it was for the best. x

Haha... There seem to be a lot of us!! My clinic was telling me also about another teacher struggling. I too was unsure about occupational health, as that was how this thread started, but I am beginning to feel the same: I think I will go for it, be totally honest and just see what comes out of it. The only think I'm slightly frustrated about is that this isn't the first time I've approached my headteacher about struggling with it, why has it taken so long - and for me to have to get to breaking point - for the idea of Occupational Health to be introduced?!

Hiya...and i was the one that posted about the disability act at work and diabetes etc.

In addition i know where i work that occi health are really very good and not just with regards to 'disabilities' but for all manner of things.

As someone else said, it depends on your work but by the sounds of it, as a teacher, i am sure your OH would be pretty good.

As for diabetes and disability act its contraversial! But as Tez said to use it as a last resort as diabetes is covered. My problem arose years ago when i had to attend a retinopathy appointment and i was told i wasn't allowed time off 😡 The following year i asked again about this and did a bit of research explaining the situation with a bit more force! Low and behold i was told i was covered to do this in works time (due to working full time). I think it all goes down to the fact that as a diabetic we all look 'normal' (hate that word) but our bodies internally are caput!

I can always try and dig out any relevant info you require and if i find it i'll post it on here.

Give the OH a go in anycase, it may help no end and it seems that the suggestion is a supportive one rather than just saying yes leave.

Good luck...

Bernie x

Thanks Bernie. I will see where I get and then maybe ask you for anything additional that might help. I agree that diabetes is somewhat unusual in that generally we do look healthy, at least superficially. I have tried to explain the impact it has on my ability to work, but I get to tired of sounding off about highs and lows... Maybe this will help. And maybe it will help the school help another diabetic, pupil or teacher, in the long run. 🙂

 

[Northerner]

Hi Munjeeta, I have no personal experience of either OH or teaching, but just want to wish you all the best and hope that things work out for you so you can really enjoy your career and not feel constantly on the edge because of the diabetes. And it's lovely to see you posting again, I have missed you 🙂

 

[Rainbow]

. My headteacher has said that my PPA time can be taken offsite and used for appointments. Is this acceptable or should I be allowed additional time?

Hi again,
I suppose that depends if you think that's acceptable?

Take time to think that through, does that mean you can only take time out of work on that particular morning or afternoon for example? Everyone is different but I've been seeing my DSN twice a week for the past three and a half weeks as my basal rates and everyhing else has been incredibly tricky to reign in. If she can see you at that particular time then all well and good, but what if she can't?.... do you struggle on until same time next week?

PPA time is for just that, if you take that as time out for medical appointments when do you do your PPA?- at home in the evening as well as everything else we do for the job out of hours.

Time out for medical appointments is classed as a reasonable adjustment. Taking extra time in the early days will benefit your employer in the long run, once things have settled and routines are sorted I intend to just vist the hosp in school holidays, as I'm sure you will.

I agree that it would be good to start your pump in the school summer hols if it works out that way but as your work doses and home/holiday doses will be very different you will probably still need additional time with your DSN to sort those once term begins and pressures are different.

This is something you should definitely discuss with OH so they can make recommendations in writing. In this proffession we are quilty of putting the children first, juggling too many balls. Take some time for yourself, it really is very little to ask of your school. Headteachers really are a rare breed! Have you asked advice from your union? Lets face it youre not going to abuse any time out taken and they should know that you will only go if neccessary.

My DSN prepared me a letter informing my head and govenors that I was changing the management of my diabetes to using a pump. It outlined the benefits and also the changes and additional monitoring I would have to undertake. I also took in brochure from medtronic so that they actually knew what one looked like, and that I wouldn't have to pull it behind me on wheels!!

In essence I actually spoon fed them I feel, but up to now everything has been ok so I must have done something right! Sometimes fear of the unknown is as bad for them as it is for us.

Oh, I now also get my own named shelf in the fridge 🙄 my one vial of spare NovoRapid looks a tad lost in there on its own and I insisted I didn't need a whole shelf but its mine apparently so I stocked it with orange juice for hypos and thats were I go and take five mins when I'm low.

Hope it helps

Sue x

 

[rossi_mac]

Hi sorry you are having a rough time of it at the moment, hopefully some good will come of all of this, obviously others have lots of good advise here (sorry I have none!) just try and relax at home and take care of yourself.

Cheers

Rossi🙂

 

[getcarter76]

Hi sorry you are having a rough time of it at the moment, hopefully some good will come of all of this, obviously others have lots of good advise here (sorry I have none!) just try and relax at home and take care of yourself.

Cheers

Rossi🙂

I think this is equally good advice 🙂

Bernie x 🙂

 

[Munjeeta]

Haha... Thanks Northe and Rossi 🙂

And Sue... Once more, such clarity!! I can only aspire to at the moment 😱 I will do some thinking and speak to my diabetic team when I see them next week, by that point they will have discussed my getting a pump and will hopefully have something concrete for me. I can discuss how often I will need to see them etc and go back to my head with more information. Phew...