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Consent required for Occupational Health Referral
When sending an employee for an Occupational Health Assessment or Independent Medical Assessment part of the process is to get the employee's consent. There are 2 different consents that need to be gained from the employee. However should you or the Doctor look to seek an opinion or report from the employee's GP or other specialist at any stage then another consent form is required.
Consent to attend the Medical Assessment
This is the responsibility of the employer. Essentially the employer needs to get the agreement of the employee to attend an appointment. We would recommend that the employer talks through why they would like the member of staff to attend and what they hope to achieve by the referral. Larger employers tend to have their own consent form which they get their employees to sign to say they understand and are happy to attend. Should you not have such a consent form then Everwell can easily supply one as part of the Occupational Health Referral Service.
Consent to release report
This is the responsibility of the Occupational Health Physician. As part of the assessment process the Doctor should explain that they are going to generate a report for sharing with the employee's Management and generally what that report will say. At this stage the Doctor will seek consent to release such a report. This 'informed' consent can take three forms:
- Consent to just release the report without seeing it.
- Consent to release report but to receive a copy at the same time.
- Consent to release report but after only after a copy has been received giving an opportunity to suggest amendments.
Amendments to Occupational Health Report
Should an employee wish to amend a report before it is released then they have the right to suggest amendments regarding "facts" but not the Doctors opinion.
Consent to obtain GP report (or similar)
At any stage of an Occupational Health Referral either the employer or the Doctor may think getting a report direct from the employee's GP or other specialist will add value to the process. If this is the case then another distinct consent is required (consent to access medical records).
Withheld Consent
An employee can withhold their consent at any stage of the process and cannot be compelled to proceed. If this is the case then we would advise that the employer makes their best endeavour to persuade the employee to proceed. Failing this then the employee should be clearly informed that Management will have to proceed using only their current knowledge and without any expert medical opinion. This should be clearly documented.
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