Hi Tracey, Strangely enough, I encountered this situation just last week and didn't think much of it. An employee was referred to me after months being off sick, allegedly with stress related mental health problem caused by work. He kept saying he has been seeing an OH nurse at GP's surgery during his time off, and she has been giving him advice regarding work, when to return, etc. I thought he was mistaken but he kept insisting it was an OH nurse. Anyway, I told him that I am employed by the company to give the advice, and I would quite happily question or override the advice of the GP OH nurse. I have been providing a service for the company on site , twice a week , for over 3 years. I think I do know the environment and the inherent risk of his role better than the surgery OHN. Sorry. But I just couldn't quite believe some of the advice she was supposedly giving him ..........unless he's got it all wrong?? Yes, it was quite annoying, especially when the employee kept referring to the surgery OHN.. In the end , I got quite sharp with him and told him that the company is more likely to heed my advice, so would he please stop repeating what the other OHN had told him. If this is happening more around other surgeries, I can see some rather ' awkward ' times ahead, especially if there are conflicting advice. Hopefully, we can all work together if we know of each others existence !! Must admit I didn't expect this as it was the first time that anyone had mentioned seeing a GP OHN. lean ----- Original Message ----- From: Tracey Moore To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 6:41 PM Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] OH Advisor in GP surgeries Hi Is anyone on the list aware of OH advisor's employed by GP surgeries and if so what are their remit. I have just had a GP report stating that the patient was being seen by the surgery OH. The company (who we provide OH services to), have written and spoken to this OH advisor, as the employee refuses to have any contact with the company. He has been most unhelpful with offering appropriate support and advice to enable a safe return to work ,he has stated that the company are aggravating her symptoms by contacting her. The company are unaware of why she is off, other than it is work related stress and her father has threatened to take the company to court, for compensation. The employee appears to be hiding behind this OHA and wont talk to me, unless through the GP OHA. The GP has stated that she is not fit to return to work, and is unable to state when she will be and any she is only willing to contact me via their OHA. She has been absent for 5 months I have never came across and OHA being employed by a GP, I maybe out of date, so your experience would be appreciated Thanks in advance Tracey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH JOBS http://OHJobs.drmaze.net OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.233 / Virus Database: 270.10.18/1935 - Release Date: 02/03/09 17:48:00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please remove this footer before replying. OCC-HEALTH ARCHIVES: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/occ-health.html CONFERENCES AND STUDY DAYS: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=OCC-HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH JOBS http://OHJobs.drmaze.net OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSING EDUCATION http://www.aohne.org.uk