Skip Navigation

Occupational Medicine 2005 55(5):357-363; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqi069
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brown, J.
Right arrow Articles by B. Macdonald, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Brown, J.
Right arrow Articles by B. Macdonald, E.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions{at}oupjournals.org

The involvement of occupational health services prior to ill-health retirement in NHS staff in Scotland and predictors of re-employment

Judith Brown1, K. Nundita Reetoo1, Keith J. Murray1, William Thom2 and Ewan B. Macdonald1,

1 Public Health & Health Policy Section, Division of Community Based Sciences, University of Glasgow, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ2 Workability, Enterprise House, Dalziel Street, Motherwell ML1 1PJ, UK.

Objective To assess the process, causes and outcomes of retirement because of ill-health in NHS staff in Scotland. Particular areas to be investigated include the involvement of occupational health services, access to rehabilitation and redeployment, current health, whether working again and to identify predictors of re-employment.

Method An ill-health retirement (IHR) questionnaire was mailed to 863 NHS staff awarded IHR benefits by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency between April 1998 and March 2000.

Results In all, 49% of the 863 postal questionnaires were returned. The most common reasons for retiring were diseases of the musculoskeletal system (38%) and mental disorders (21%). Seventy-one percent of the participants reported their ill-health was partly or completely work related and 29% not work related. Ninety-two percent of NHS staff had attended an occupational health department prior to IHR. Twenty-three percent of participants had no contact with their line manager during their illness prior to retiral. Eighteen percent of individuals were offered the opportunity of working part-time and 15% offered alternative work. Seventeen percent of participants have obtained other work. Predictors of re-employment after IHR were: medical condition, managerial responsibility, improvement of health, wanting to work again, occupation and age at retirement.

Conclusion This is the first comprehensive study investigating NHS staff experiences of IHR in Scotland. This study illustrates the need for improved support and rehabilitation for ill-health care workers and that there is the potential to reduce levels of ill-health retirement.

Keywords      Ill-health retirement; occupational health services; re-employment status; rehabilitation

Correspondence to: Ewan B. Macdonald, Public Health & Health Policy Section, Division of Community Based Sciences, University of Glasgow, 1 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ. Tel: +44 141 330 3720; fax: +44 141 330 4038; Email: e.b.macdonald{at}udcf.gla.ac.uk


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.