Transcript Managing and Supporting Employees experiencing Mental

Managing and Supporting
Employees experiencing
Mental Health Problems
IOSH – Yorkshire Branch Seminar
‘Putting the H back into ‘ealth and Safety’
Holiday Inn, Warmsworth, Doncaster
12 June 2008
Amanda Dowson
RGN RSCPHN(OH) BA(Hons) CMIOSH
Occupational Health Advisor
People
with
illness
don’t
deserve
Most
Locating
mental
who
were
health
once
facilities
patients
in
ainour
a
1
Mental
Nine
person
Debt
in
3women
of
can
people
ill
in
the
health
make
4mental
ten
will
with
countries
suffer
a
accounts
a
mental
serious
from
with
health
for
amental
mental
almost
the
problem
highest
health
20%
“Improving
least
one
public
million
attitudes
adults
to
in
the
health
are
out
I At
wouldn’t
want
to
live
next
door
toUK
someone
11
in
10
persons
surveyed
consulted
their
GP
sympathy
(15%)
mental
residential
hospital
area
can
downgrades
not
be
trusted
the
asof
problem
worse
of
suicide
problem
triggering
at
some
are
the
point
adisease
vicious
in
world
debt.
insymptoms
are
cycle.
in
life.
the
will rates
take
of
work
time,
with
but
mental
if in
you’re
health
suffering
problems
from
the
who
has
been
mentally
illtheir
(12%)
in
the
last
12
months
with
of
the
burden
of
in
the
neighbourhood
babysitters
(77%)
(20%)
European
Region.
effects of stigma
today
then
that’s time you
anxiety
or
depression
European
Region.
‘Attitudes to Mental Illness 2008’
‘Attitudes
to Mental
Illness
2008’
don’t have.“
Office
WorldDrentea
for
Health
National
Organisation
& Lavrakas
Statistics
2008
2002
Bird A(2000)
(2006)
National
Statistics
Office
‘Attitudes
to
Mental
Illness
2008’
National
Statistics
Office
Dr Andrew
McCulloch
World
Health
Organisation
2008
National
Statistics
Office
2008
World Health
Organisation
2008
National
Statistics
Office
to Mental
Illness
2008’
Chief Executive ‘Attitudes
of the Mental
Health
Foundation
National Statistics
MayOffice
2009
Perceptions of Mental Illness
• Someone who has a split personality (59%)
• Someone who cannot be held responsible for his or her
actions (49%)
• Someone who is incapable of making simple decisions
about his or her own life (37%)
• Someone who is prone to violence (36%)
National Statistics Office 2008
Delirium
Schizophrenia
Mania and other psychoses
Depression and other mood disorders
Anxiety, phobias, panic attacks and other neuroses
Personality Disorders and Character Traits
Hierarchy of symptomatology of mental disorders Davies (2001)
Good mental health is characterised by a person’s ability to
fulfil a number of key functions and activities, including:
– the ability to learn
– the ability to feel, express and manage a range of
positive and negative emotions
– the ability to form and maintain good relationships
with others
– the ability to cope with and manage change and
uncertainty
Mental Health Foundation
The report
'Working
for
a Healthier
Tomorrow'
A
total
of
13.8
million
working
days
were
lost to
Work-related
stress
accounts
for
over
a
third
Each
case
of
work-related
stress,
depression
or
calculated the cost of sickness absence and
work-related
stress,
depression
and
anxiety
in
of
all
new
incidences
of
ill
health.
anxiety
related
ill
health
leads
to
an
average
ofto
worklessness associated with working-age ill health
2006/07
30.2 or
working
days
lost.
be £100bn a year,
enough
to run
the entire NHS.
Health
Safety
Executive
Health
andand
Safety
Executive
Health
and
Safety
Executive
Mental
Equal
Risk
Recommend
ofOpportunities
Health
stress Policy
should
familiarisation
Policy
should
be assessed
should
bewith
an the
integral
emphasise
likeHSE’s
other
part
health
commitment
of the
Stress
and
Health
safety
Management
toand
ensuring
risks.
Safety
HSE
that
Standards.
at recommends
Work
people
policy.
with
mental
using health
‘5 Steps
problems
to Risk Assessment’
are treated with
format.
equity
and parity.
Sickness Absence Management
Occupational
Health and
Health may
and /influence
or Health and
Sickness
absence
statistics
Requires
Needs
commitment
Suitably
to be lead
trained
byfrom
Human
managers
Senior
Resources
Management
Safety
professionals
need
to
be
involved
health and safety priorities where health
problems may be caused or aggravated by work
Exam ple of a Com parison of Days Lost due to
Exam ple of a Com parison of Episodes of Sickness
Sickness Absence
Absence
headache/mig
back problems
injury,
Anxiety/stres
other MS
Anxiety/stres
raine
15%
1%
fracture 4%
s/depression/
problems 1%
s/depression/
other 1%
infectious
other 20%
Cough/cold/flu
diseases 2%
22%
Genito-urinary
headache/mig
1% raine 47%
chest
back problems
&respiratory
Gastro15%
problems 5%
intestinal 13% infectious
diseases 1%
ENT 0%
ENT 1%
other MS
chest
Gastroinjury,
problems
&respiratory
intestinal
21%
Genito-urinary
fracture
0%
Cough/cold/flu
9%
problems
1%16%
4%
Occupational Health
Liaise with Personnel
Fit
Temporary
redeployment
restrictions
or adaptations
Attempt
Redeployment
-where not
possible
Capability
Procedure
Resign
Ill Health
Retirement
Mental Health and Absence
The Manager should:
Reassure
Ask
ifKeep
there
the
inrehabilitation
is
employee
touch
anything
with
about
you
the
can
employee
practical
docalls
to
help.
issues
Give
Ask employee
ifExplain
the employee
Offer
what
chance
Occupational
wants
to explain
cards,
Health
plans
the
visits,
problem
support
are
available
from
and what
their is
colleagues
happening
at this time
by asking
and what
open
thequestions
employee
(nicely!).
wants their
colleagues to know about their absence if anything.
Monitoring following Return to Work
Monitor progress
– Are they coping with job?
– Are there any further modifications required?
– Whilst we acknowledge that you may still be
experiencing some difficulties, are there any
elements of the job that make it worse / better?
– Scoring method or benchmarking against own goals
1
2
Difficulty with some
aspects of job
3
4
5
Able to undertake most
aspects of job
reasonably well
6
7
Able to cope with nearly
all aspects of the job
8
9
10
Coping well, no problem
at all
Mental Health –
when return to work is unsuccessful
• Go through full process of reviewing progress, making
adjustments and talking to employee
• Talk realistically with the employee about best way
forward e.g. transfer to another job, retirement on
grounds of ill health, resignation
• Use normal procedures if it is a performance or a
conduct issue rather than one relating to health or
disability
Ill Health and Dismissal
• Disciplinary procedure are inappropriate in genuine ill
health cases
• Decisions need to be based on competent medical
evidence
• Need to undertake risk assessment
• Need to consider adjustments to the workplace /
redeployment (Disability Discrimination Act)
• Need to give warnings
Considerations Relating to
Ill Health and Dismissal
• Nature of the illness
• Likelihood of it recurring or other illness arising
• Length of absence and periods of good health between
them
• Need for employer to have work done
• Impact of absence on those who work with them
• Adoption and carrying out of policy
• Emphasis on personal assessment in ultimate decision
• Extent to which the difficulty of the situation and position
of the employer have been explained to the employee
Peritus Health Management
46a Bradford Road
Brighouse
West Yorkshire
HD6 1FY
Tel: 01484 722444
Fax: 01484 722032
www.peritushealth.com
[email protected]