Whenever the term ‘rehab’ appears in the national media headlines, it’s invariably accompanied by photographs of a television/film celebrity or a pop star who has ‘gone off the rails’ and is checking into one of The Priory Group’s clinics in a bid to kick their drug or alcohol habit. True, that’s one form of rehabilitation (to use the correct terminology), but where does it have any relevance for you as a security manager and the members of your Security Department?
If you or a member of the team has an accident at work and suffers a serious injury, then you might well receive treatment aimed at repairing the damage to your body, your mind or perhaps both. Rehabilitation is the process that helps support you in recovering as fully as possible from that injury in order that you can return to normal duties you ably performed prior to the incident. This involves physical and mental recovery from injuries.
Alongside this and every bit as important is the restoration of your functional abilities. If you’re unable to return to your previous role then you’ll need assistance to fulfil a new remit. You’ll also need to restore your ability to perform those activities germane to everyday life possibly including driving, walking, basic household tasks, perhaps even playing football with the children. In short, you’ll need to return to the life you had before the accident or incident in question.
Where does the NHS fit in?
“Doesn’t the National Health Service do all of that, though?” is the question many readers of Security Management Today will ask. Unfortunately, although NHS bosses do recognise the benefits of supporting everyone who needs the service with a rehabilitation programme, the truth is that this Government provision is designed to deliver a reactive acute service and treatment of chronic conditions rather than proactive programmes. There’s also a small matter of budgets to be considered.
For all types of work-related injuries, it’s fair to say that early intervention is the key to achieving the best recovery. A back injury is regarded as being chronic at six weeks, yet the average waiting time for physiotherapy on the NHS is between three and four months. In addition, intensive weekly treatment would always be the recommendation, but the NHS provision is usually based on a fortnightly or monthly review and treatment cycle.
The end result? Injured people can fall into a ‘black hole’ where they receive no treatment, support or advice that would help them return as soon as possible to a normal life. Recovery takes longer and, in many cases, may end up being incomplete. Employers then carry a higher cost burden as a result of losing an employee for longer than was necessary. They’re also unable to bring the employee back to work on a gradual basis without support to ensure that it’s safe to do so.
Wherever compensation claims are a factor, the absence of a rehabilitation programme renders litigation costs significantly higher.
Is there an answer?
FirstAssist Rehabilitation services
FirstAssist holds Investors in People status and ISO 9001:2000 accreditation in many areas of its business. Operating 24/7, the organisation has offices in Hinckley and Purley.
FirstAssist boasts a team of medical and vocational experts who assess an injured person’s needs in order to then devise and deliver a programme that will ensure the best possible recovery. The medical (treatment) issues and what are termed vocational needs job or daily life matters are considered in each case in three areas, thereby adopting an holistic approach:
By focusing on these areas, FirstAssist can then piece together a plan working with the patient, their employer, the NHS where and when it can provide support and sometimes purveyors of treatment, advice and support from the private sector.
In some cases, FirstAssist will provide advice on and monitor good NHS treatment. Where the NHS cannot deliver, FirstAssist will actively source private provision. There is also liaison with employers, advising them on how they can help bring injured members of staff back to work as soon as possible. Sometimes, this will involve a gradual return over, say, four-to-six weeks with limited hours or alternative duties.
By carefully controlling the return to work of employees, employers can manage the issues involved with little or no disruption to their operation. Employees are both a valuable and expensive resource and, when they can be returned to work in a helpful and sensible way, they’ll usually become very loyal and increase overall productivity.
The employee gains by having access to a team whose members are solely focused on their recovery. The strain involved with trying to obtain access to good and timely treatment is removed. Social pressures – such as the financial worries that often follow in the wake of an accident – can hold back recovery times. In such circumstances, FirstAssist is then able to provide advice and keep the injured person motivated and fully-focused on becoming better and returning to their old role or, in some cases, a new career.
Examples in the real world
60-year-old maintenance engineer Melvyn Smith we’ve used a fictitious name for the purposes of this article was involved in an accident at work and suffered a back injury. FirstAssist assessed him and recommended a short, intense course of physiotherapy. Six sessions, to be precise. Once again, the NHS couldn’t provide treatment for at least four months so Smith’s GP had signed him off from work for an indefinite period. He was in pain and couldn’t move freely.
Treatment was begun and completed within four weeks. Melvyn returned to work nine weeks after the accident with no after-effects whatsoever. The cost of the rehabilitation work amounted to less than GB pound 400.
Absent employees place a huge burden on an organisation, but sometimes it isn’t easy to see how that burden is affecting your other employees (and how you might be able to manage it more effectively).
FirstAssist’s unique sickness absence service can help tackle this problem by cutting absence levels, reducing health risk, improving intellectual capital, limiting the direct and indirect costs to business and promoting employee health and well-being.
The principal behind the FirstAssist Sickness Absence Service is an early return to health and work. To achieve this requires a multi-disciplinary approach in which FirstAssist works in partnership with your organisation’s Human Resources, Health and Safety and other personnel-related teams. This approach is offered within the framework of focused case management led by occupational health professionals. FirstAssist also refers employees to specialists to provide them with advice, support and treatment to achieve the earliest return to health and work.
Sickness absence service
The sickness absence service combines immediate access to Occupational Health advisors – together with leading edge technology in order to provide
Our services go beyond simply managing the process of absence. Providing an effective solution for a quick return to work as well as identifying the potential risks and causes of sickness absence are integral to the sickness absence service.
Deploying specialist resources
To support these solutions, FirstAssist can deploy a number of specialist resources, such as pre-employment health screening, physiotherapy, an Occupational Health Advice Line, Occupational Health physician referral and medicals and dedicated health awareness programmes.
People are the principal asset of every business. Acting positively about the health of your organisation will improve your business performance.
