I've been diagnosed with a condition called Interstitial Cystitis (IC) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interst...adder_syndrome)
Leading up to this diagnosis i have had a lot of time off work (i work the local council as admin) although these have been frequent but short term abscences as I have always tried to wrk through the pain- which have been recorded on my sick leave as various different reasons.
After finding out more about this condition it is clear that the majority of my sickness can be attrubuted to IC. In fact it would seem that i have suffered from this condition for at least the past 10 years, possibly longer. It is not unusual for this condition to be misdiagnosed as it is not a common condition.
Within my job I have a fair bit of driving - even more so since they merged 2 teams into one and moved us to an office that is 20 miles away from my home (takes about 40 mins travel time - more if the traffic or weather is bad). Before they moved us i lived 5 mins from the office and my traveliing was nowhere as much as it is now, as the geographical area we now cover has vastly increased. I did object to the move and had assistance from HR at the time, but this stopped when the HR rep I was dealing with changed areas and the new HR person never followed up on my case as i was off sick for just under 3 months, and i just let things ride as i just wanted as less fuss as possible and for everything to go away (was going though a very bad bout of depression at the time)
We have now got HR involved again (with mny agreement) as and my boss has asked Occupational Health for their view on my situation and what options i have for redeployment as I have been told by the consultant that driving is a possible trigger fact for my condition - as well as when i'm in flare up i need to be able to access bathrooms, so travel isn't always a good thing. I have agreed to the OH referrral and completely understand why this is necessay and look on it as a positive thing as i may get the help i need.
My boss has been very understanding and very sympathetic and i have no complaints at all about the way i have been treated by her but i am now concerned as she has mentioned that if my sickness level does not improve then she may had to start capability proceedings, this takes things to a whole new level and i feel out of muy depth, especially as I have just started a course of bladder instills (one a week for 6 weeks, then monthly for the foreseeable future - at least a year minimum), but the procedure is very painful and has caused a flare up, so I had to take a day off sick as i couldn't drive my car home from the hospital as I was in so much pain, so getting to work was just not possible.
So I guess my questions are:
Am I covered my The Disability Act as this is an ongoing condition that will I now have for the rest of my life and it is a case of management rather than cure.
What protection does this offer me?
How can i protect myself to ensure that a good outcome for me is achieved?
Any other advice?
Leading up to this diagnosis i have had a lot of time off work (i work the local council as admin) although these have been frequent but short term abscences as I have always tried to wrk through the pain- which have been recorded on my sick leave as various different reasons.
After finding out more about this condition it is clear that the majority of my sickness can be attrubuted to IC. In fact it would seem that i have suffered from this condition for at least the past 10 years, possibly longer. It is not unusual for this condition to be misdiagnosed as it is not a common condition.
Within my job I have a fair bit of driving - even more so since they merged 2 teams into one and moved us to an office that is 20 miles away from my home (takes about 40 mins travel time - more if the traffic or weather is bad). Before they moved us i lived 5 mins from the office and my traveliing was nowhere as much as it is now, as the geographical area we now cover has vastly increased. I did object to the move and had assistance from HR at the time, but this stopped when the HR rep I was dealing with changed areas and the new HR person never followed up on my case as i was off sick for just under 3 months, and i just let things ride as i just wanted as less fuss as possible and for everything to go away (was going though a very bad bout of depression at the time)
We have now got HR involved again (with mny agreement) as and my boss has asked Occupational Health for their view on my situation and what options i have for redeployment as I have been told by the consultant that driving is a possible trigger fact for my condition - as well as when i'm in flare up i need to be able to access bathrooms, so travel isn't always a good thing. I have agreed to the OH referrral and completely understand why this is necessay and look on it as a positive thing as i may get the help i need.
My boss has been very understanding and very sympathetic and i have no complaints at all about the way i have been treated by her but i am now concerned as she has mentioned that if my sickness level does not improve then she may had to start capability proceedings, this takes things to a whole new level and i feel out of muy depth, especially as I have just started a course of bladder instills (one a week for 6 weeks, then monthly for the foreseeable future - at least a year minimum), but the procedure is very painful and has caused a flare up, so I had to take a day off sick as i couldn't drive my car home from the hospital as I was in so much pain, so getting to work was just not possible.
So I guess my questions are:
Am I covered my The Disability Act as this is an ongoing condition that will I now have for the rest of my life and it is a case of management rather than cure.
What protection does this offer me?
How can i protect myself to ensure that a good outcome for me is achieved?
Any other advice?
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