Making an effective referral

When and why should I refer someone?

Managing absence and the wellness of your team isn’t always simple. For example, if you know an employee well, you may feel confident enough to support them back to work yourself without needing a referral to our team. In this scenario, you could ask them what they feel you could do to help them return to work, such as any adjustments for you to consider to ease them back to their full duties.

Inevitably there will also be occasions where referring to an occupational health team is beneficial to ensure that you are following the correct process and receiving appropriate professional advice and support.

When would a referral be helpful?

Examples of scenarios when a referral might be helpful include:

Employees who are off sick, or long-term sickness.
Employees still in work, who are experiencing mental health problems or musculoskeletal problems.
Repeated short-term absence or a pattern of absence.
Chronic health conditions.
An employee who is having surgery.
General concerns about an employee’s health and wellbeing.

Whatever the health issue or concern, the most important thing you can do as a manager is refer as soon as possible. Early intervention demonstrates to your employee that you are concerned about their welfare. It also prevents acute health problems from developing into longer-term chronic problems.

For example, stress can quickly develop into anxiety and depression, and an episode of lower back pain can quickly develop into a longer-term problem without timely support.

Most importantly, early intervention ensures the employee receives the right support, advice and treatment at the right time. It can help to keep your employee in work or facilitate an earlier return to work.

How do I make an effective referral?

Logging into myOH

As a manager you should have your own myOH manager account, which gives you access to all our occupational employee health and wellbeing services. Your username should be your work email. If you can’t remember your password, there is a password reset feature on the homepage of the portal. If you do not have an account, contact your Optima Health customer service team.

Making a referral

To make a referral, log into myOH and click the ‘create new referral’ quick-link on the dashboard. Then you will need to work through the referral form, ensuring that you complete all fields and include as much information as possible.

Our occupational health and wellbeing specialists will spend around 20-30 minutes talking to the employee during a consultation. The only input they will have from you is what you include in the referral – that’s why it’s important to include as much information as possible to ensure that the clinician can undertake an impartial assessment.

What to include in the referral

Provide the correct email and phone numbers for both the employee and line manager, including details of any other managers who may be overseeing the case in a line managers absence.
Provide as much information as possible about the reasons for the referral. For example, absence history, any adjustments that have previously been put into place, and any performance or disciplinary issues.
Enter as much information as you can about the core physical and psychological requirements of the job. For example, does it involve exposure to chemicals, repetitive tasks, exposure to trauma or a high level of decision-making?
Ask specific questions you may have. Include these so they can be addressed and answered in the report you receive after the consultation.
Include any other information you feel may be helpful to the occupational health clinician to inform their understanding of the employee’s health issues or your concerns.
Proactively suggest adjustments or phased returns that you could consider if they are likely to support an employee’s successful return to work. While not every employee will need adjustments or a phased return, it is helpful if you can do this.

Remember, if you want to discuss the case before the consultation or seek advice on making a referral you can call the administration team on 01327 810 262 and ask to speak to one of the clinicians prior to their consultation with your employee.

You may also find it helpful to dial into the last 5-10 minutes of the occupational health consultation providing your employee consents to this, so that all parties can agree the plan going forward.

What do I do after I’ve completed a referral?

Once you’ve completed the referral, it’s very important that you share the content with your employee so they know exactly what has been included in the referral. Once you’ve got their consent to make the referral, tick the relevant box in myOH to confirm.

What happens after I submit a referral?

You can track the referral through the process in the myOH system. You and the employee will also receive notifications updating you on the progress of your referral. When we receive the referral, we triage it to ensure that we fast-track the employee to the most appropriate clinical specialist based on the information provided.

For example, this could be:

One of our occupational health advisers for advice on persistent short-term absence, general health issues or return to work after surgery.
One of our physiotherapists for musculoskeletal issues.
A mental health practitioner if the issue relates to stress or other mental health issues.
One of our occupational health physicians if the referral relates to multiple complex health issues or ill health retirement.

Our occupational health and wellbeing clinicians follow a rigorous procedure during the consultation to ensure a comprehensive clinical and biopsychosocial assessment. This includes a review of your management referral and any concerns you have raised.

They then assess the employee’s medical history, symptoms, medication, mental health, sleep, functional capacity and any relevant psychosocial issues.

What is included in the report?

After the consultation, you will receive a notification via email asking you to log into the myOH portal where your occupational health reports will be ready for you to review. This will normally be no later than 48 hours after the consultation, provided the employee has given their consent to release the report.

The report should be clear, evidence-based and impartial. For example, it should include:

A brief summary of their impartial understanding of the issues.
Focus on what the person can do, rather than what they can’t do.
Set out a clear plan to rehabilitate the individual or facilitate their return to work with timescales.
Advise if it’s a management issue or a medical issue.
Advise on the prognosis for work, including any likely duration of absence, and the likelihood of recurrent absence in the future.
Advise on any underlying medical reasons for repeated absence.
Advise on whether the Equality Act 2010 is likely to apply – although the ultimate decision can only be made by a court.
Include, where relevant, a statement relaying the employee’s perception. You may not already be aware of these, and this information can be helpful in managing your expectations.

The report from the occupational health and wellbeing clinician should provide you with a good understanding of any relevant health issues and their likely impact on the individual’s ability to fulfil their role at work.

With this information, you should be able to manage the case forward. If you require clarification on anything in the report or would like to discuss alternative adjustments feel free to call the administration team on 01327 810 262 and ask that the clinician calls you to discuss the report.

Alternatively, you can put any queries in an email directly to the clinician and they will respond to you personally within 48 hours of receipt of your email.

You will be sent a link to provide feedback shortly after you receive the referral report. Please take the opportunity to provide us with feedback on your experience. It only takes 30 seconds to complete and really helps us to continually improve our service and enhance your experience.

Common misconceptions about work and health

Working is an integral part of daily life, and there is strong evidence to show working is generally good for an individual’s physical and mental wellbeing. For many, work can be therapeutic. It can provide security, allow people to socialise and give people meaning. Work can also be important in helping people to recover from ill health.

There are some common myths and misconceptions about work and health, so hopefully the following facts will help:

Employees do not need to be signed back to work by their GP following a period of sickness absence.
If the occupational health and wellbeing team believe someone is fit to return to work and their GP is signing them off for longer, you can take the advice of the clinician as specialists in assessing fitness for work.
The fit note is not a mandate to stay off work, and an employee can return to work at any time.
There is sometimes a cultural expectation that everyone who goes off sick is entitled to a phased return or adjustments – but this is not actually true. Many people can return successfully to work without any adjustments or phased returns.
Managers do have a duty to consider adjustments to the working environment and practices where they are recommended by our team. It is, however, up to you as the manager to decide whether any adjustments are reasonable and practical, and whether they can be accommodated.
If the issue relates to stress, we strongly encourage managers to undertake a stress risk assessment to establish the root cause of any issues and address these with the individual. We offer online stress risk assessments in the myOH portal, where you can also watch a video about stress risk assessments.

Remember that good reports and consultations are a two-way process. Help us to help you by following the guidance on this page; be proactive, address management issues, act on the advice that is given and remember to provide as much information as you can in the referral.

Menu