Occupational Health Adviser

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job context

Health and Wellbeing provides a service for Council employees, Schools and Academies and external contracts. The Health & Wellbeing Service is nurse led; telephone consultation service based at County Hall in Northallerton with by arrangement face to face services provided through on-site clinics.

The post holder is part of a team of occupational health advisers providing advice and guidance to clients and managers on employment related health matters and health promotion activity.

Job Purpose:

To work as an autonomous occupational health practitioner as part of a nurse led service working with the line manager, providing a clinical advice service for occupational health case management and health promotion programmes to the Council and contracted employers. By working clinically as a member of the nursing team the postholder will ensure a high standard of advice and guidance is given to clients and managers within the Council and to external contracts on work related health matters.

In addition to providing comprehensive general OH services, to work proactively with staff and managers with whom the service contracts to, to promote health and wellbeing. This includes effective management of clinical risk reporting to the line manager, within the OH risk and governance framework.

Operational management:

To provide occupational health service to clients of North Yorkshire Council to give advice, guidance and support on work related health matters including suitability for employment, fitness to work and rehabilitation to the required professional standards in compliance with legislation and local NYC or relevant employer policies.

Contribute to the development, delivery and evaluation of effective and efficient health promotion activity for staff within the Council, Schools and other external clients ensuring that the department delivers a value for money service.

Use clinical skills and knowledge to give specialist advice and support to peer groups, staff, clients and managers.

Highlight areas of opportunity for process and service development that secures increased efficiency of service delivery and promotes proactive health promotion and ill health prevention.

Provide clinical and professional leadership, advice and guidance to clinical and non-clinical staff in Health and Wellbeing Services and foster collaborative partnerships with other Services and disciplines.

To participate in the clinical supervision process to ensure safe effective evidence based advice and guidance is given to managers.

Ensure the clinical standards are embedded in practice and monitored in accordance with the needs of the service in conjunction with the line manager.

To engage in clinical audit according to departmental processes and requirements

Partnerships:

Work with the line manager to plan, design and deliver health initiatives to the workforce within the Council and externally.

Effective liaison with experts and Occupational Health Physicians on health and wellbeing referrals and ill health retirements.

Actively engage with HR initiatives and projects

Strategic management:

Participate in the planning, development, delivery and evaluation of health promotion activity within the Council

Working with HR colleagues, contribute and support the ongoing review and improvements of attendance management policies, procedures and processes within the Council.

Communications:

Represent the Health and Wellbeing Services at Council wide forums, inter agency meetings and external meetings and forums deputising for the line manager when required.

Actively take part in and support wider Human Resources Directorate initiatives and issues

Build and maintain positive and effective relationships with individuals and specific groups in a sensitive and mediating way to give advice, guidance and influence behaviour change, communicating effectively within the OH Team, clients and across operational boundaries.

Provide written occupational health reports to managers giving effective advice on employment related health matters, including suitability for employment, fitness to work and rehabilitation to the required professional standards in compliance with legislation and local NYC policies. Being inclusive and highlighting the need for coaching and or learning for management (where applicable) and providing solutions for these needs.

Ensure effective clinical notes are taken and maintained in line with legislation and ethical standards and departmental processes.

Liaise with GPs, consultants, and other primary carers as appropriate in relation to cases

Effective communication and engagement across services in relation to effective development and delivery of health promotion activity within the Council including advising, planning and delivering on public health initiatives for staff in the Council

Systems and information:

To work with the occupational health software system to maintain patient records.

Work with Employment Support Services to ensure that occupational health reports and clinical reports are maintained in accordance with legislation and ethical standards.

Ensure that legislative and ethical standards (e.g. confidentiality and consent) are adhered to in the provision of advice and guidance on employment related health matters to managers and in the management of ill health retirement cases

To ensure effective recording and monitoring of management information to support attendance management, undertaking clinical audit as appropriate for specified customers within the organisation

Person Specification

Occupational Skils

Essential

• Able to organise and manage own caseload and work as an autonomous practitioner in a nurse led environment
• Ability to critically analyse information from different sources to make good decisions and provide effective advice, recommendations and guidance based on a sound clinical rationale
• Able to plan the provision of services provided by multi-disciplinary teams and external providers of services
• Good level of Computer skills
• Presentation and training skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to relate to clients and managers
• Problem solving

Desirable

• Mentoring skills
• Teaching skills

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered General Nurse
• Registered Occupational Health Nurse (Degree or Diploma)

Experience

Essential

• Detailed knowledge and understanding of Occupational Health Nursing and all core Occupational Health services
• Sound understanding of Health and Safety legislation and the Equality Act 2010
• Research/Evidence based practice
• Health Promotion
• Clinical Governance
• Significant post registration experience or the ability to demonstrate the equivalent level of knowledge.
• Proven track record of Occupational Health Nursing experience or the ability to demonstrate the equivalent level of knowledge.
• Clinic based work experience in a nurse led environment
• Experience of providing Health screening and health surveillance activity
• Proven track record in the planning and delivery of successful Health promotion initiatives
• Recent experience of auditing against Occupational Health standards
• Recent experience and proven track record of influencing and implementing changes to clinical protocols
• Recent experience of Policy formulation
• Proven track record of working in partnership with external agencies

Desirable

• Experience of acting as a lead nurse in a clinic-based nurse led environment
• Experience of training and assessing

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

North Yorkshire Council

Address

County Hall

Racecourse Lane

Northallerton

North Yorkshire

DL7 8AE

Employer's website

https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)