AQW 21955/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 05/02/2025
Answered On Date: 14/02/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance to detail the number of staff that have been awaiting an Occupational Health Service medical assessment for more than six weeks.

Answer:

There are several different forms of medical assessment conducted by OHS. Data included in the table below is correct as at 7 February 2025.

Pre-employment	26 members of staff are awaiting assessment for more than 6 weeks. 12 of these have been allocated an appointment within the next 2 weeks.
Fitness for work	3 members of staff are awaiting assessment for more than 6 weeks. 2 of these cancelled a previous appointment that had been scheduled and are awaiting a new appointment to be allocated.
Injury Awards and Pension referrals	29 members of staff are awaiting assessment for more than 6 weeks. An appointment is not required for this type of referral.
Health Surveillance	522 members of staff are awaiting assessment for more than 6 weeks.

Fitness for work referrals are requested by NICS Departments when they require medical advice in relation to staff who are absent due sickness, or those currently still attending work, or to obtain medical opinion to inform ill-health retirement decisions.

2 Health Surveillance is a series of repeated health checks which are used to identify ill health caused by work, or to mitigate occupational risk. With the introduction of OH Technicians, this number will significantly decrease in the coming months. These referrals often require input from multi-disciplinary occupational health clinical staff, they can be complex, and they often take more time than other referral types. Delays in carrying out these referrals do not prevent staff from attending work.