HR Connect

Yes if you just have a mild infection e.g. a cold. Please do not attend if you feel very unwell, have a temperature or are being treated with any antibiotics. To change or cancel an appointment, please contact Occupational Health on 0141 201 0600.

You should carry out first aid immediately and report the injury to whoever is in charge of your clinical area. Further guidance is available at our Needlestick & Similar Injury page. All incidents should be reported to Occupational Health as soon as possible after they occur on 0141 201 0595.

Yes, you can self-refer for a number of services including advice, physiotherapy, counselling and the alcohol & substance  nurse clinic.

Go to our Self-Referral & Counselling page for further information on what is available & how to arrange an appointment. Please note we do not provide written reports back to managers from these appointments.

Yes all employees can access free & confidential counselling from fully trained counsellors via the Occupational Health Service.

To make an appointment call, 0141 201 0600.

There is an Occupational Health Physiotherapy service which employees can access by completing a self-referral form.

Priority will be given to those employees who are absent from work, those who have suffered a musculoskeletal injury whilst at work and those who are about to go off work. Further details on this service can be found on our Occupational Health Physiotherapy Service page.

Exposure Prone Procedures (EPP) include procedures where the health workers’ gloved hand may be in contact with sharp instruments, needle tips or sharp tissues inside a patients body cavity, wound or confined anatomical space where the hands or fingertips may be not be completely visible at all times. Taking bloods and inserting cannula’s are not EPP procedures

Information on management referrals and what happens at these appointments can be found at our Management Referral site or by accessing our Management Referral Leaflet. 

You need to request this in writing, please send a letter with your full name, Date of Birth, Address and signature to: Occupational Health Service, 6th Floor, West Glasgow ACH, Dalnair Street, Glasgow, G3 8SJ

The Workplace Adjustment Passport to support to support employees with a disability, health condition or diversity in the workplace to have, and continue to have, a great experience at work has been launched.

With the help of the Passport, we can bring about progress in a collaborative and supportive manner.

The Occupational Health Service is unable to fast track any NHS referral or fund any private referrals.

At present, the car parking permit on health grounds policy is under review and the Occupational Health Service is only able to issue supportive letters for permits on a 4 month basis. You need to complete an application form. Please contact the nursing team on 0141 201 0600 for further advice. 

Please contact our appointments line on 0141 201 0600 to make, change or cancel an appointment

•  Dry/red skin – We recommend that managers try the steps outlined in our skincare information sheet and the Hand Dermatitis Guide from National Education Scotland in the first instance however, if your staff member’s skin does not improve following this then please submit a skin health surveillance questionnaire to Occupational Health. this should be sent to occhealth@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Please provide details of any steps you have taken in the workplace e.g. increased use of moisturisers. Please do not submit a management referral.

If your staff member has broken, cracked or bleeding skin – We recommend that you submit a skin health surveillance questionnaire and an attend anywhere consultation will be arranged.

Please do not submit a management referral form  if a staff member is experiencing irritation from wearing a surgical or FRSM mask.

If the irritation continues please contact the nursing team on 0141 201 0594 and complete a skin health surveillance questionnaire.

The Learnpro modules “Managing Skin Care at Work for Managers” and “Managing Skin Care at Work for Responsible Persons” can be found within the CPD section.

The NES module Hand Hygiene is part of The Scottish Infection Prevention & Control Education Pathway Foundation level and this can also be accessed via Learnpro.

• Urgent referrals for cases such as terminal illness or other serious illness.
• Consideration of ill health retirement or redeployment. Please ensure that you have discussed this with the employee and HR prior to referral.  Ill health retirement is only applicable if the employee has been superannuated for a minimum of 2 years, they are permanently unfit for work, all options for reasonable adjustments have been considered, and they have exhausted all treatment options and are under their normal pension age.
• Long term absences – 29 days or more for advice on likely return to work and rehabilitation. It is important to note that not all long term absences require referral to Occupational Health at 29 days for example routine surgery where an expected recovery of 6+ weeks has been identified (please also see work related stress guidance and access to counselling service information).  
• In some (but not all) cases of frequent, short-term sickness absence where there are patterns of absence or there is an underlying health condition adversely affecting health or work is adversely affecting health.
• significant underlying health issues impacting on workplace health
• significant mental health issues e.g. severe anxiety, depression.
• To seek advice and support for employees who are on Stage 3 of the Attendance Policy

Return to Work/Phased Returns

If the case is in relation to an imminent return to work then you as line manager should explore the details of this with your member of staff in the first instance.  If there is any concern regarding potential residual symptoms that may impact on their ability to deliver their normal role you may wish to consider whether modified duties may be feasible E.g. a temporary adjustment or restriction duties that the employee would find difficult.

A phased return may also enable a more successful transition back to work. The new NHS Scotland wide policy enables a 4-week phased return on full pay not requiring the use of accrued leave. It is also useful to look at breaking up working weeks to reduce the impact of fatigue on return to work e.g. working non-consecutive days and gradually phasing the staff members hours back up to their contracted hours.

In some cases, a longer phased return may be beneficial in supporting a return to work and consideration could also be given to utilising any accrued annual leave to further extend a period of reduced hours following the initial 4-week period. Any phased return should be discussed with the employee prior to their return to work and should take into account any modification required to duties. 

Work related Stress

If an employee reports work related stress, the expectation is that the Manager should meet with them to identify the cause of the work-related stress and explore the potential options for addressing or resolving the stressors locally.  

If the stressors are as a result of relationship difficulties in the workplace, Mediation may be explored as an option via HR.  A referral to Occupational Health is only indicated, if a health condition is declared or the work-related stress is exacerbating a pre-existing health condition.  

If an OHS referral is required, it is important that the manager notes any interventions that have been attempted to date and includes a copy of the stress risk assessment. Managers should refer to the Stress in the Workplace guidance. 

Access to Occupational Health Physiotherapy and Counselling Services

If the employee only requires physiotherapy or counselling and there are no other issues impacting on their health & wellbeing in the workplace, then a management referral is not required. 

Employees can self-refer to arrange a counselling appointment on 0141 201 0600.

Employees can self refer to physiotherapy if required.

 A number of services are available to support staff in response to Covid -19 including occupational health counselling and national resources via the Wellbeing Hub for NHS Scotland.

Skin problems 

If an employee is reporting a skin problem which may be caused by or made worse by work (including skin problems affecting the hands) please refer via the usual Skin Health Surveillance process.

For urgent advice regarding a skin problem please direct the employee to contact Occupational Health by phoning 0141 201 0594 or email occupational.health@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.