Advice for doing my job with osteoarthritis

samo36

Hi,
i am new to this site and and looking for advice over my current job
i have osteoarthritis in my left shoulder which was operated on two years ago. And recently been diagnosed with having it in my right knee and cervical spine 5th 6th 7th disc
i am a current serving prison officer and have been for 24 yrs also i severed as a guardsman in the forces for 4yrs
my consultant has told me a need complete change of lifestyle and job as he said that i would be unable to fulfill my duties in my current role.
I am struggling to adapt as i have kept myself in good shape over the years and looked after my body .They think that it has been past on genetically as my mother suffered with it .
i have to face a medical inefficiency board as my current governor has said that they cannot support me in my current role and offered a re-role with a wage cut.
It looks like i will have to find another job at the age of 46 and i am struggling mentally to know my next steps .
Any help or advice would be welcome as i am at my whits end
thank you

frogmorton

Oh Dear

I am so sorry to hear this.

I am no expert, but wonder whether there is a union to support you.

It's good that they are prepared to offer you another position, testament to your work record no doubt, but with a pay-cut not so good :? . I imagine there will be an impact on your pension too unless you can get that protected???

Seriously, advice is needed here. If you have no union, ACAS do have an advice line I think.

If you have a look on this board there is a forum for benefits and working matters. There may already be similar situations there....and you might want to cut and paste your post over there too????

Ooops! Sorry I forgot to welcome you from me to our community

Toni xx

samo36

Many thanks Toni ,i will have a look at the pages you have suggested
and thank you for the welcome x

[Deleted User]

Hi Samo36,

Welcome to the site from the forum mod team.

Moving this post to working matters forum

Take care
Mod YEH

stickywicket

Hi samo36 and welcome from me too

It's tough coming to terms with having an ongoing, progressive disease and even more so when it means you have to leave a job you enjoy. I guess it also seems a bit unfair as you've kept yourself in good shape. OA can come as a result of previous injuries, and obesity is also a risk factor but, as you've been told, there is a growing belief that genetics can also play a part just as it can in the auto-immune forms of arthritis.

I have a foot in both camps. Years of RA led to OA also so I've not been able to work for years and am therefore not the best person to advise you. I suggest you contact our Helpline people by phone, email or their forum on here. If you google 'career change' several sites come up, some free others not.

And, for sympathy and empathy, try posting on the Living With Arthritis forum. Good luck.

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you but I am sorry that you have had to find us. There are between 8 - 10 million arthritics in the UK (it depends whose stats you read which you believe) and the majority have OA, it is very common. It was once defined as the 'wear and tear' arthritis (because it does not have a link with auto-immune arthritis) but the thinking on that is being revised as people in their late teens and twenties are being diagnosed with it. Like Sticky I have a foot in both camps and had to stop work a couple of years ago but I was able to adjust things as I deteriorated because I was self-employed.

Your employer is under a legal obligation to accommodate your physical needs, and has obviously made some effort to do so, but I am not sure about the law on the pay side of things. If you belong to a union then contact them for advice, or maybe the CAB could help? I wish you well and hope that a new role can be found for you. DD

Slosh

I would suggest getting your union involved, it's what you pay them for after all. I was also wondering if you have access to Occupational Health? I'm a teacher and have been referred a few times and always found them very helpful. Something else to look at is Access to Work who come out and assess you in your work place to see what equipment might help, you contact them via Job Centre plus.
I can't think of anything else off hand that might be helpful, but good luck and let us know how you get on.