I have been off work since August last year after suffering severe flare ups and eventually having a right hemi colectomy in November.  My recovery has been slow and I have been concerned that the diarrhea hasn't gone away but it now turns out that my Crohns has returned already, basically within a few months of the op.  My work have been supportive but were expecting me back by now.  Last week my GP refused to sign me fit for work, and said that I would probably be off work for a long time yet until my crohns was under control.  He has given me a certificate for the next month and then wants to see me again beofre thinking of going back to work.  I've just spoken to my boss who informs me that I now have to go through an occupational health assessment.  Just wondering if anyone else has had one and what it involves.  She was asking me how much longer I was likely to be off for but I really can't say and I asked my doctor the same question and nor could he.  Any advice would be great, getting paranoid now!

Lou, I have had two of these and they aren't usually scary things. From the employers side they want to know if you will be able to work again and if so what they need to do to help you. If you are in the situation where you need a little extra help from your employer then this can be a very helpful process. For me my main problem was that I wouldn't drive during rush-hour as I was terrified of getting stuck in a traffic jam unable to reach a toilet. Once the friendly and understanding doctor understood the issue he worked with me to phrase something that would explain the issue to the company so that they wouldn't put me through something unnecessarily traumatic. Once a doctor had explained they were fine with me taking the train instead or working from home, it ended up making my work life a lot better. I can't guarantee that you will have such a good experience and if you really can't realistically do your current job then they will have to tell your employer that. It's not necessarily bad in short.  

Hi Lou

I've never had one of these but I would begin looking into disability allowance if there is any chance of you being off work long term. Employers can be understanding but at the end of the day they have to make their decision based upon business rather than personal feelings. Maybe a good compromise if worse comes to worse would be for you to agree to take 6 months off, claim disability, get the illness under control and then have a guarantee you can have your job back?

Whatever happens you have my best wishes.

Hi Lou, I've had two occupational health assessments. The first one was a waste of time. I saw a lady who spent all the time talking about her father who had crohns. She also told my employer that she could see no reason for me having any more time off as I had everything under control. I was sent for a second opinion after being off yet again and this lady was fantastic. She put me at ease and allowed me to talk about all the bad things. Always tell her the worse they won't cringe and they will listen. She also told my employer that I was covered under the disabilities act so they had to improve my working conditions. Unfortunately I am now in the process of being made redundant but I did opt for it as work was actually making me worse (teaching a class of 30 11-16 year olds does that). I have been told to claim employment support allowance so may be this is something you can look into. Good luck

Hi im actually going throught the process of claiming ESA at the moment, as ive now bin of work for Nearly 7 months, and my ssp run out at 6 months, its a long form to fill out but i got help of the CAB very good they were, You get £64.30 for the first 13 weeks, and if you are accepted then it goes up to £89 and unfortunatley its not back dated , but it worth a try, its a score point form,  if you need any info, pm me, or leave a message on here and ill reply back
Tc all xxxsuexxx

Thanks to you all for your advice.  Just received my consent form in the post today.  It appears that this is the first stage of the assessment, they just need proof of my condition from my GP and consultant and the expected length of sickness.  I think if it gets to the next stage, I have to see an independent doctor.

Cheers
Lou x