Assessment at work

Takamaka
Takamaka Member Posts: 7
edited 13. May 2025, 10:16 in Work and financial support

Hello!

I wonder whether any of you has been assessed at work by the occupational health team.

I work as an occupational therapist in the community and I wonder which kind of adjustments I can request from my employer to prevent the worsening of my condition i.e. mild changes of osteoarthritis on my hips.

I mostly work from home so I sit down on front of my laptop for hours and I go out in the community to carry out home visits too.

Thanks

Regards

T.

Comments

  • ghostbuster
    ghostbuster Member Posts: 6

    Hi, think about what would improve things for you. You can get gel cushions for your work station chair and car seat. Is there anything that would ease your pain while you work from home, in the car or in the community? Do you struggle standing while you carry out your work in the community? Anything that would improve your situation is worth asking for. It should be person led so your suggestions should be key and they might be able to suggest things you hadn’t thought of. Make sure if your arthritis worsens that you let them know as they can make further adaptions in future. You are lucky to have this type of support, I hope you can get something that works for you.

  • Takamaka
    Takamaka Member Posts: 7
    edited 28. Mar 2025, 20:59

    Thanks. I tend to feel discomfort on my left leg after walking for some time so I use public transport to travel from one home visit to another one. I can't drive so sitting inside a car isn't a problem;) I have always had a bad posture so that's a problem. I will ask questions to my Occupational Health advisor once I see one.

  • Tracyblack1971
    Tracyblack1971 Member Posts: 1

    I have osteoarthritis in my hands back knees and toes . I've had steroid injections in my wrist but it's gone wrong as have no muscle left in my arm and about to loose the job I love iis there anything I can do better and get bk to work asap

  • Ellen
    Ellen Moderator Posts: 1,959

    Hello @Tracyblack1971 welcome to the online community.

    You don't say what job you do for a living so it's difficult to be sure how to respond. Some of us do use voice recognition software for typing if your job is in that field.

    I am just going to attach this information about working with Arthritis which may be useful.

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/work-and-arthritis/

    Best wishes

    Ellen.

  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 30,344

    That article should help @Tracyblack1971 it will tell you your rights. You are entitled to 'reasonable adjustments.

    Best of luck

    Toni x

  • MoWW
    MoWW Member Posts: 79

    Hi @Takamaka

    You could use our Work adjustment plan to consider what difficulites you have with work and identfy some solutions. Work Adjustment Plan

    Flexible working can often be key to helping you manage your condition, taking short activity/movement breaks too. Equipment such as ergonomic chair, that you can adjsut to ease your hips. If you use a computer regularly then an ergonomic keyboard, mouse, wrist rest, foot rest and Anglepoise monitor arm may be helpful. If you do a lot of typing using a speech program such as Dragon, also consider how you can use your computer handsfree check out these sites for information, How to adapt your computer for living with arthritis | AbilityNet and Assistive Technology Overviews - Thriiver

    I understand you are an OT in the community, you might find it helpful to speak with an OT who specialises in occupational health or ask your employer to refer you to OH. Hope things work out for you. @Moww

Categories