AHPs supporting Work and Health

Work-is it really everyone’s business??

One of the very first questions we might ask somebody we first meet in a social situation can often be “so, what do you do?” It can be a great icebreaker but underneath the surface it can be a question about the identity, purpose and meaning in our lives that work or indeed any other vocational activity can give.

Day in, day out with our clients- how often do we ask them about their occupational or vocational identity? And whose responsibility is it anyway?

The Vocational Rehabilitation Association wants to continue to spread the word that work really is everybody’s business and we want to make sure it’s firmly on the agenda!

You may already be in a role which requires you to focus on supporting people to return to/stay at work or it might be something that feels pretty new to you.

Regardless of experience levels, here at the VRA, we are here to support all of our members to feel confident putting the work conversation on the agenda with their clients. Whilst we hope you already aware of the regular webinars we hold on a variety of subjects related to vocational rehabilitation; another part of our support for members is signposting and encouraging the use of the fantastic resources on work and health that already exist.

If you are an Allied Health Professional (AHP),  you may already be aware that there have been some really exciting developments made when it comes to supporting people to return to work. Most recently, earlier in 2022 there was a change to the Fit Note regulations which means that Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Nurses and Pharmacists are now able to issue these. This also adds to the already well-established AHP Health and Work Report which AHPs are able to use to support individuals with the process of returning to work by providing recommendations or suggestions in relation to health-related/ functional difficulties the client may be experiencing. Below, we have put together some links which we hope you find helpful to support with additional training and information around these areas.

Vocational Rehabilitation Resources for AHPs  

VRA resources – this includes some freely available and some member-only resources

A career in Vocational Rehabilitation

Resources for individuals – this has a lot of useful resources for everyone and its a great link to share with service users

Royal Society for Public Health resources  

Royal Society for Public Health AHP Hub

Vocational Rehabilitation – Wadell, Burton and Kendall

Work and Health E-learning module

Good work for Good Health  – RCOT paper on the role of OT in VR

AHP Health and Work Report

The AHP Work and Health Report  can be used to claim sick pay from employers for short-term absence, or by offering practical advice to facilitate a discussion between employer and employee on how to retain a staff member in work

Here is more guidance and resources on the AHP Work and Health Report:

Fit Note

 

Case examples

https://www.rcot.co.uk/about-us/specialist-sections/work-rcot-ss