Welcome
Welcome to University Hospital Tees, we hope that you enjoy your time working with us.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is important to the trust; this has been demonstrated by the trust’s commitment to achieving the Better Health at Work Award.
Occupational health want to help you to improve your health and work life balance so that you stay fitter, happier and healthier for longer.
If there are any aspects of your health that you are concerned about in relation to your work, then please feel free to contact our team of occupational health professionals to discuss this further.
What is occupational health?
Occupational health is a specialist branch of healthcare concerned with the effects of work on health and the effects of health on work.
The role of occupational health is to facilitate safe work – we do this in a number of ways:
- Having one to one consultations, in medical confidence, with trust staff to discuss their health and how it affects their work
- Offering vaccinations for infections people may encounter in their work – such as the yearly flu vaccine
- Providing advice and signposting to health and support services
- Providing a wellbeing service – which includes wellbeing and support for mental health, musculoskeletal problems and menopause support
The occupational health team
We are a multi-disciplinary team of occupational health professionals that includes specialist nurses and doctors, physiotherapists, a manual handling advisor and wellbeing
advisors.
We are based at three locations across University Hospitals Tees:
- South Lodge, The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
- Zetland House, Friarage Hospital, Northallerton
- 2nd Floor, South Wing, University Hospital of North Tees
The services provided include:
- Advice and assessments to support work – including advice on adjustments to support work, new starter health assessments, return to work plans following periods of absence and signposting to relevant health and support services
- Work-related vaccination programmes and vaccination assessments for new starters
- Physiotherapy advice, support and treatments
- Manual handling training
- Health education and promotion
- Wellbeing advice and support
Feeling ill at work
Please inform your manager or supervisor if you do not feel well enough to be at work.
There is no requirement for you to report general ill health to the occupational health department
Follow the guidance of the trust’s sickness absence policy and the trust’s infection prevention and control guidelines.
If you have diarrhoea and, or vomiting, you need to inform your line manager and refrain for work for at least 48 hours after your diarrhoea and, or vomiting has settled.
Sharps injuries and exposure to bodily fluids
- If you are using sharps, use them safely – use ‘safer sharps’ wherever possible and dispose of used sharps as soon as possible into an appropriate sharps bin
- If you have any cuts or abrasions, make sure that you cover them with a waterproof plaster
- Use the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) for the work you are undertaking – remember to wear a visor/eye protection if there is a risk of bodily fluids splashing into your eyes
- If you have sustained an exposure, please contact the occupational health department (Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm) or the emergency department if out of hours, as soon as possible
- Please see the trust policy for full details of what action to take
Accidents at work
Please report all accidents to your manager and complete the relevant incident form.
If further assessment of the injury is required, please seek further advice from an appropriate service – such as your GP, the urgent treatment centre or the emergency department for serious injuries.
Vaccinations
Many of those working in University Hospitals Tees will be exposed to infectious disease through their work.
The occupational health service tries to make sure that everyone has the offer of the right vaccinations for the work that they do when they start their job.
However, if you think you may have missed an offer of an appointment, or if you want to ask about vaccinations, please contact the occupational health team.
What vaccines do I need to have to protect me in my work?
The vaccines offered will vary depending on your role, it is recommended that all those working in healthcare are up to date with their routine vaccinations. The following are particularly important:
- The seasonal flu vaccine is offered to trust staff every year – all those who are ‘frontline’ healthcare workers and have contact with patients are recommended to take up the offer of vaccination against the flu. The trust communications will tell you when, where and how to access the flu vaccine
- All staff are advised to be vaccinated against measles, cases are on the rise and the MMR vaccine is an effective way to help keep you and your patients safe
- Anyone who is potentially exposed to clinical sharps (such as needles) or bodily fluids (such as blood), should be up to date with their hepatitis B vaccination as this can help to prevent hepatitis B infection following a sharps injury. If you think you may need
hepatitis B vaccination or have further questions, please contact the occupational health team
If you require further advice or wish to discuss vaccination further, please contact the occupational health department.
Looking after your skin health
Many of those working in healthcare will be required to frequently wash their hands and/or wear gloves when carrying out their duties.
Whilst clean hands are essential for patient care, this may affect your skin over time and so it is important to look after your skin.
Follow the infection prevention and control guidelines on when and how to clean your hands and to look after your skin. Please also:
- Make sure that your hands are wet before you apply soap
- After you have washed your hands, make sure that you rinse them thoroughly so that no soap is left on your hands
- Make sure that you fully dry your hands: use disposable paper towel and pat them dry – don’t rub or scrub the skin as this may cause irritation
- Once your hands are dry, apply a moisturiser to the skin
If you use gloves in your work, please note that long periods of time wearing gloves can irritate your skin. To look after your skin, please do the following:
- If you don’t need gloves for a task, then don’t wear them
- Make sure that you do not put on gloves when your skin is wet dry it first
- Take breaks from glove use as often as you can, particularly if your hands get sweaty
- If a glove is damaged, replace it as soon as reasonably practicable
- Make sure that you use the right glove for the right task, particularly if handling specific chemicals. Your manager will be able to advise you further about what type of gloves you should be using in your working area
General advice for looking after your skin
- Don’t ignore skin problems, early treatment (for example from a pharmacist or your GP) can help settle skin problems quickly
- Prevention is better than cure – if you have a tendency to dry skin, or if you wash your hands frequently and use gloves at work, regular use of moisturiser throughout the day can help prevent skin problems, whether at home or at work
- Many household cleaning products (for example washing up liquid) are an irritant – consider using gloves when using these chemicals at home
If you have problems with your skin, make sure you are following the advice above, but if you still have concerns:
- Contact occupational health, either as a self-referral or referred by your manager, to ask for advice
- See a pharmacist if you need advice regarding skin-care products – such as choice of a suitable moisturiser or mild steroid creams
- See your GP if you are concerned that your skin needs further treatment, or you are concerned that this may be an underlying skin problem or skin infection
Counselling – Alliance
There is a free, independent and confidential counselling service available for staff. The professionally trained counsellors are experienced in a variety of issues which may be causing you concern, be it at work or at home.
Staff members can self-refer for counselling by calling Alliance direct on 0800 107 5880 or by emailing [email protected].
Menopause clinic for staff
Currently the trust offers a menopause clinic service to all staff across University Hospitals Tees.
This is open to all colleagues impacted by symptoms of the menopause. Referrals to the clinic can be made by managers or by individuals by email to [email protected].
Please note that this is a discretionary service and is subject to financial review.
Further menopause resources can be found on the staff internet and intranet.
How to refer for support
Following on from a health and wellbeing conversation, managers can refer staff to the occupational health team for support.
The trust operates a digital referral system. If a manager needs to submit a referral, please note this must be done via an online portal (OPAS); there are separate links to the portal depending on which trust you are based in:
You do not need to use the online portal if you are making a self-referral to the occupational health service, instead contact us by phone or email.
Confidentiality
Information shared with the occupational health service is held in medical confidence – this means that the occupational health team will not share this information with your employer, manager, HR or your colleagues.
In some rare circumstances, occupational health may need to breach medical confidentiality, examples include where there are serious safeguarding, patient safety or health and safety concerns.
Contact us
The James Cook University Hospital
- Address: The James Cook University Hospital, South Lodge Marton Road Middlesbrough TS4 3BW.
- Directions: South Lodge is close to the Helicopter pad and alongside the bus stop on Marton Road. The V3 Car Park is opposite the building.
- Opening times: Monday to Friday 8am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 5pm
- Telephone: 01642 282482
- Email: [email protected]
Friarage Hospital
- Address: Zetland House Bullamoor Road Northallerton DL6 1JG
- Directions: Located inside Zetland House. On entering the main hospital, Zetland House is on the right-hand side
- Opening times :Please email [email protected] for the current opening hours
- Telephone: 01642 282482
- Email: [email protected]
University Hospital of North Tees
- Address: 2nd Floor, South Wing Hardwick Road, Hardwick Stockton-on-Tees TS19 8PE
- Directions: Located on the 2nd Floor, South Wing, UHNT
- Opening times: Monday to Friday 8am to12pm and 12.30pm to 4pm
- Telephone: 01642 383211
- Email: [email protected]