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As a healthcare employer who provides high quality patient care we need to ensure that those who provide that care are fit and well, and part of that means looking after our skin.
Work related skin problems are common within the health and social care sector as employees have to carry out hand hygiene on a frequent basis and their skin can also regularly be exposed to chemicals or other materials used in the manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde cannot eliminate all known risks to staff skin health, therefore it is essential that measures are implemented to detect any health problem that might arise through an effective skin health surveillance programme, this allows for preventative action to be taken in order to safeguard the health of the employee.
Skin health surveillance will also review existing risk assessments and control measures and provide assurance that workplace controls are adequate.
If you require any advice regarding Skin Health Surveillance, please contact Occupational Health on 0141 201 0594.
Skin Health Surveillance process
- 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.
Irritation from FRSM/Surgical Masks
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.
LearnPro Training
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.
Resources
- The Long COVID Service has now closed to new referrals.
- There are however a number of online resources that can still be accessed.
Information for Managers
Long COVID involves a continuation of a broad range of debilitating physical, cognitive, and
psychological symptoms that persists beyond 12 weeks. Initial “Mild” symptoms are not reflective of
long term outcomes for many. For many people, it will be a combination of physical and
psychological symptoms; and an exacerbation of pre-existing symptoms may further complicate
their presentation.
Possible features of Long COVID in the workplace
- Difficulty in standing for long periods, or in sustaining normal work due to fatigue
- Reduced ability with physical tasks, e.g. lifting or walking longer distances
- Increased breathlessness with activity which can lead to poor tolerance with wearing face masks.
- Trouble concentrating with tasks, takes longer to complete tasks and employee may worry about making mistakes.
- Need for more frequent trips to toilet, more frequent rest breaks for recovery of energy.
- Attempt by staff to “push on” and “overcome” despite increasing symptoms can result in further absence periods i.e. Sick leave, following by return, followed by relapse and further leave.
Example of recommendations for a staff member returning to work following an extended COVID absence
- The individual plan should be tailored to each staff member based on the severity of symptoms and their role / tasks at work.
- Phased return to work with shorter days and non-consecutive days initially. Due to the nature of fatigue the staff member may require an extended phased return more than the standard 4 weeks – may require up to 8 or 12 weeks. Advising starting with 1 short shift (may be as short as 3-4 hours) then gradually building up the amount of shifts per week before considering increasing the shift length for a more gentle phased return as this complements the fatigue management advice. It may be that the staff member is not always able to increase their hours in a linear way – may be that on some weeks they have a flare in their symptoms and any planned increases are paused or take a step back to a previous level which they were coping with. The staff member should be able to determine this based on their symptoms by that stage and liaise with their manager when further support required.
- Consider some temporary adjustment to workload, opportunity to work alongside a colleague for the first few weeks for support if needed / supernumerary. Explore options for additional support/assistance with the more physical aspects of the role e.g. working with lower risk individuals.
- Consideration of temporary alternative work if they are unable to resume to the more physical aspects of the role e.g. Learn pro / non clinical work (this may be helpful or it may be that based on what impacts on their symptoms, it is unhelpful or not required).Some people may need to limit the amount of time doing physical or PC tasks depending on symptoms
- Keep shift patterns routine e.g. same start time each day and avoiding mix of early / late /night shifts until they have managed to build up their hours and duties.
- There may also be role specific adjustments such as; being kept on own ward / smaller geographical area, not being responsible for emergency page, reducing clinical caseload initial supervision for clinical decision making (e.g. drug rounds), avoiding interruptions through day and avoiding on-call / nights etc.
Resources
Online Support & Resources
Long COVID involves a continuation of a broad range of debilitating physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms that persists beyond 12 weeks. The National Wellbeing Hub has developed some resources to assist those coping with the
prolonged aftereffects of COVID. This is aimed at supporting people working in health and social care with living with the uncertainty that this condition can bring and their anxieties about returning to work.
These include two evidence-informed articles, one aimed at managers providing advice on how to support staff returning to work with Long COVID, and one aimed at people experiencing Long COVID These are supplemented by a Top Tip sheet with
brief guidance for managing recovery from Long COVID.
In addition to the written materials, they’ve produced a series of three short videos. For these, they’ve spoken to two professionals who have both experienced Long COVID. In one, we hear about Janine’s path to recovery, while the other
charts Grace’s return to work and how she is managing the ongoing challenges associated with this.
They’ve also spoken to Dr John Harden, Deputy National Clinical Director at the Scottish Government, who talks through what Long COVID is, what to do if you’re experiencing Long COVID, and how to manage some of the more common symptoms.
Information and self-management advice.
- NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde – Covid Care Booklet
- NHS Inform – Longer Term Effects ( Long Covid) Links to further information on fatigue, breathlessness, cough, pain, sleep, mood, anxiety, and return to work as well as Chest heart and stroke advice line.
- Your Covid Recovery Sections on: Breathlessness, fatigue, headache, mood, memory & concentration, palpitations, Musculoskeletal issues, voice and swallowing and chest pain.
- Recovering from Covid 10: Post Viral Fatigue & Conserving Energy How to conserve your energy, practical advice for people during and after Covid 19
- NHS Inform Self Help Guides on line tools and PDF’s self- help guides that can be down loaded on various Mental Health & Wellbeing topics including: Sleep problems, anxiety, depression, problem solving, chronic pain, PTSD, bereavement and self esteem.
- Mental Health & Wellbeing Audio Guides on line tools and audio guides on various topics including – low mood, anxiety, sleep problems, self-confidence, unhelpful thinking and breathing exercises for stress.
Peer Support Groups
Resources
All NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde employees can self-refer to the Occupational Health Service to access a wide range of support services. For further information on what’s available, please select from the options below.
Self Referral
All employees can self-refer to Occupational Health for confidential advice & support with one of the nursing team. Appointments are available by telephone only currently. All appointments are confidential.
Please call 0141 201 0600 to make an appointment or alternatively you may find the information you are looking for on HR Connect.
Counselling
Counselling services are available to all NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde employees within the Occupational Health Department at the West Glasgow ACH. All appointments are confidential.
Please contact 0141 277 7623 to arrange an appointment with one of the counselling team.
Where possible we ask you to consider making use of on-line resources or accessing alternative community supports. Links to a range of resources are available below. If you are experiencing a crisis please contact your GP or out of hours services
The Occupational Health Psychological Therapies Service (OHPTS)
This service is available to staff who wish to access psychological support. The service provides:
- Psychological first aid
- 30 minute telephone or ‘Attend Anywhere’ video sessions
- Sessions are delivered by a member of the Occupational Health Psychological Therapies Service (OHPTS)
To access call 0141 277 7623, Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 5.00pm
Please note this service will not be able to provide an immediate response. If you need immediate support with your mental health please contact a trusted member of your community such as your GP, or NHS 24 on 111 or if you are in imminent danger please dial 999.
Additional Supports and Resources
Mental Health and Wellbeing is just as important as physical health and many factors and life events can have an impact on how we feel. This hub provides links to further information and services available that can help you to improve your mental health and wellbeing.
If you are feeling very distressed, require emotional support or are suicidal then there are organisations who can help.
To speak in confidence to one of the Mental Health Occupational Health team or to arrange a counselling appointment, please phone 0141 277 7623. This line also operates an answer machine service if required.
Further Mental Health and Wellbeing Resources
General Practice Nurse Support and Development
Our key responsibilities include Workforce Development, Governance, Workforce Planning and Professional Leadership for Practice Nurses, Health Care Support Workers and Advanced Nurse Practitioners who work within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
We have a dedicated communication site for Primary Care Support, for information on available resources and learning opportunities, for more information on this site please contact marion.watson@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Making a management referral to Occupational Health
The way managers submit referrals to Occupational Health changed in 2022 to a new occupational health system that will allow referrals to be submitted electronically directly in the system. The system is called OPAS G2 and you will be able to login into the system to submit a referral or by opening the Microsoft Edge browser and going to NHSGGC Favourites then Admin then OPAS G2 Occ Health System.
The management referral form has been simplified to make it easier to submit a referral, you will also be able to view reports and track the progress of a referral via your managers dashboard giving you complete visibility throughout the whole referral process. A simple guide to submitting a referral using the new system is available.
Appointments will be carried out by telephone or using the Attend Anywhere video consultation service and face to face if required.
Using the OPAS G2 system
Do not submit the referral until you have fully completed all required sections. The referral cannot be amended again once submitted unless unlocked by the occupational health team at initial triage Please ensure to add any additional questions you wish answered. These can be added by clicking on the ‘Add Additional Questions’ link. each question should be added as a new entry. Please do not add these all into the one box.
Please note there are two mandatory questions, and these are defaulted to Yes, do not change these.
Manager and employee details can be updated if required e.g. to update address or phone number by clicking on the ‘Update’ button. Please ensure all details are correct and update if required.
If you have not received a login or are unable to login by the end of March, please contact our admin team at occhealth@ggc.scot.nhs.uk who will set up a login for you.
Employees now require to give consent via G2 before a report is released, this can take up to 5 days before you receive a report after a consultation has taken place.
Please note we continue to work to the criteria below for referrals.
Any responses from our service including the occupational health advice report will be sent by email and information can then be accessed via the managers dashboard.
If we have requested additional information, please respond and then click ‘Resubmit to OH’ in the top right hand corner to resend back into the system for further triage. The more relevant information you can provide the easier this process is, please avoid submitting referrals with only one sentence as these cannot be fully triaged.
Printing & Saving a Referral
To print or save a copy of a referral as a PDF – click on the ‘Print Referral’ icon on the top right hand screen of the employee record. Either print as required or change the print option to ‘save as a pdf’
You can also print just the report itself by clicking on the completed referral to Open then click on Communications under additional Information then click on ‘new email, letter or text’ then select ‘NHSGGC Management Referral Response Report’ then click on ‘Download’ save or print report.
Please note referrals will only appear on your dashboard for 12 months following an appointment, reports should be printed/saved and kept in personnel files or similar for future reference.
We will continue to offer appointments via telephone or Attend Anywhere although face to face assessments are also offered where appropriate, priority is given to the most essential and appropriate referrals.
If you require any help, please contact the Department on 0141 201 0600.
Criteria for Referrals
General Criteria for Referrals
- 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
If your referral does not fall into the general criteria please see further guidance
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. A management referral should not be submitted for staff requiring to be referred as part of the skin health surveillance process and the questionnaire should be emailed directly to our service at occupational.health@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.
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.
If following review of the above guidance you require further information, advice or wish to discuss the suitability of a referral to the Occupational Health Service please email occupational.health@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.
Leaflets
If you have an appointment already arranged via Attend Anywhere (Near Me) software, then you can access the virtual waiting area.
We suggest using the link a few minutes before your appointment time.
Please note that you must use Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Apple Safari internet browser.
Links
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 provides access to a dedicated alcohol and drug/substance Nurse for all NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde employees.
A specialist Alcohol and Substance Nurse is available to provide a comprehensive assessment of alcohol or substance use and suggest suitable support options if required, including signposting and referral to specialist services. Interventions such as motivational work, alcohol brief interventions and relapse prevention are also provided.
The Occupational Health Practitioner involved in your care can arrange an appointment if required or you can self-refer yourself to this service. Your manager can also refer you to this service.
This service is available to any NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde employee that is concerned about their alcohol or drug/substance use.
To make an appointment, contact us on 0141 201 0600.
Additional Resources
All employees can self-refer to Occupational Health for advice and support and to access counselling.
Introduction to Digital on Demand
Further Information
You can use the form below to provide feedback on the Digital on Demand Strategy