Occupational Health

Occupational health (OH) is concerned with your health, safety and wellbeing while at work including the effects of work on your health and making sure you are fit for the work you do.

Our specialist OH team offers specialist advice and support in a variety of areas such as:

  • Pre-workplace screening to determine fitness for the proposed role and any adaptations that may be required to facilitate working
  • Vaccination services
  • Health surveillance programs 
  • Help with health-related assessments, e.g. pregnancy risk assessments,  night worker screening
  • Management of sharps injuries,
  • Assessments on fitness to work following sickness absence to include rehabilitation programs where indicated 
  • Assessments on fitness to work because of concerns about health at work 
  • Advice and support with work related health issues or incidents 

Occupational health does not provide primary care services and you therefore need to contact your General Practitioner (GP) for medical advice and treatment for your general health concerns.

How to use this service

Vaccination services

The staff vaccination program is an important part of our infection prevention strategy helping to keep both our patients and staff safe.  Occupational Health will determine your vaccination requirements from your pre- workforce health questionnaire and invite you for appointments on starting work if your vaccination status needs updating.  In health care environments we are checking, chicken pox, measles, rubella, BCG and hepatitis B status.  Your exact requirements will depend on your job role and you will be advised if any blood tests or vaccinations are needed.

Management / Self referrals

Your manager will refer you if there are any concerns about your health in relation to your work or about your fitness to work (with your consent). You will be assessed by a qualified OH nurse or doctor who has knowledge of the workplace; following the assessment a report offering advice on fitness to work and any adjustments needed to support you to work will be written and with your consent will be released to your line manager and HR manager. Occupational Health assessments may be carried out by telephone or face to face.

Managers should complete the referral via https://esh.cohort.hosting/cohort10/ManagementReferral/Register.aspx?passcode=4779

Please note: you will need to register onto the portal first before making any referral. Please see some guidance here.

You can also refer yourself if you need advice about a health matter which is caused by work or affecting you at work.  To make a self-referral, please complete the self -referral form and email it to: esth.occhealth@nhs.net   Please note that a self-referral does not usually generate a report to your manager and we encourage you to discuss any issue with your manager in the first instance.

Sharps injuries / Blood Splash

If you sustain an injury with a sharp that could potentially be contaminated with a patient’s blood or body fluids it is important that you carry out immediate first aid i.e. squeezing the area to make it bleed, washing it with soap and water and covering with a plaster. If you splash blood or body fluid into your eyes then irrigate your eyes with water as soon as possible. If you wear contact lens, rinse them gently with the lens in and again with the lens removed.   Please report the incident to Occupational health (in office hours) or attend the local Emergency Department  out of hours as soon as possible.  OH will assess the injury and circumstances around it and advise if post exposure prophylaxis is needed, offer hepatitis B vaccination boosters and will monitor you for blood borne viruses as needed.

To contact the OH service, please call 0208 296 2678 or email: esth.occhealth@nhs.net

Employee physiotherapy MSK service

As a valued employee of CSH, you now have free access to advice and face-to-face intervention via the award-winning PAL service.  This service is provided via Occupational Health and their Physiotherapy partner Physio Med, who are greatly experienced in the delivery of occupational Physiotherapy. Find out more.

Flowchart for physio referral service

Counselling service

CSH colleagues can access the Employee Assistance Programme 24/7 365 days of the year. Just call 03303 800658.

Find out more.

Links and Documents

FAQs - Management Referrals

If I am worried about my health in relation to my work, how can the Occupational Health team help me?

The Occupation Health (OH) team can offer support and specialist advice in a variety of areas including:

  • Assessing your health before you start work with the company or if you change roles during your employment.
  • Helping protect you from infectious diseases or other agents that you may be exposed to at work through vaccination or screening programs.
  • Assessing health following significant workplace accidents such as sharps injuries
  • Assessing fitness to work following illness and advising on rehabilitation programs to facilitate a return to work where indicated
  • Providing advice concerning managing stress
  • Advising on adaptations required to help with disability at work.

Why would my manager refer me to Occupational Health?

Your manager may refer you to the occupational health team because of concerns around your health and work. For example, if you have had several episodes of sickness absence over a period of a few months, or because you are currently off sick or you may be at work but either you or your manager has concerns about your fitness for aspects of your role. 

What happens at an Occupational Health Appointment?

You will meet with a qualified nurse or doctor with additional specialist qualifications in Occupational Health, either by telephone or face to face.  The nurse or doctor will discuss your current health and treatment with you and assess the impact this is having on your ability to do your job. 

A key role of the OH nurse is to assess your fitness for work, when you may be fit enough to return to work and if any adaptations are needed to help you in work. Sometimes following a serious illness or because of limitations caused by the nature of the health problem, a rehabilitation plan can be developed with a phased reintroduction to work or changes to duties to help you to work.  Any plan has to be discussed and agreed with your manager. 

Mostly decisions about your fitness to work can be made at the time of the appointment but occasionally the OH nurse may ask your permission to liaise with your treating doctors if further information is needed or may occasionally ask you to see an OH doctor if more specialist input is required.

In some circumstances you may not be deemed fit to return to work and/or a return to work date cannot be foreseen. If this situation arises, you will be advised on any appropriate next steps by your Line Manager/HR Manager. 

Isn’t my GP responsible for signing me fit to return to work?

Your GP is responsible for your treatment and medical care. GPs are not usually in a position to know what support can be given in the workplace to help their patients to return to work. It is generally accepted that an individual does not have to be fully fit to return to work and the change in the sickness certification process moving away from sick notes to fit notes supports this approach.  If you feel well enough and in agreement with your manager and OH, you may return to work before the estimated date given by your doctor on a fit note.

What does Occupational Health report back to my Manager?

OH personnel are bound by professional codes relating to medical confidentiality. This means that your health is not discussed with your manager without your permission.  The OH nurse will discuss the information that she intends to share with your manager at the appointment.

You can withdraw your consent for the report to be sent, but you need to be aware that Managers will then make decisions about your ability to work and/or your ability to return to work without the benefit of occupational health advice and/or medical information.

If you have any questions relating to the protection or processing of your personal data by Occupational Health going forward, please see