Posted By Richard L Would anyone be so kind as to offer me some help? I have just found out that we have employed an office Manager who also happens to be, insignificantly, a diabetic however; I need to assess the risks and implement the appropriate control measures in ensuring the persons well being. Unfortunately I don’t have any experience in assessing such risks and as the person will occasionally be left alone I would appreciate some advice and possibly some examples of a risk assessment format. Thanks in advance Richard

Posted By Delwynne have you tried searching the previous threads on this topic? There has been some fairly extensive debate with some excellent bits of info included although as the previous respondent says the best person to speak to is the employee themselves.

Posted By Richard L Paul slow down, hold your horses, Firstly, I have spoke to the person, noted comments on various websites and previous threads but as I always advocate, you can never have enough information. Secondly, I do not intend to control this person’s condition, nor do I believe that I know what is best for her. I do believe that as a manager who as I’ve already said, has no working experience of Diabetes, it would be (or thought it would be) a good idea to seek advice and assistance as to how my professional colleagues helped ensure the welfare of an individual with this condition. Or have I missed something here……? Regards Richard

Posted By Delwynne In my experience (as you have already spoken to the employee in question!) the main things you need to be concerned about are 1) disposal of sharps-if required you will probably find that the employee will dispose of her own although providing a facility for her at work may be an option if this is at all practical. 2) Privacy if injections are required - it has been known for employees to make high level complaints regarding drug abuse which turns out to be insulin. 3) you mention the employee may be lone working on occasion - in this situation you really have to take the advice of the employee as to how well controlled their diabetes is, but you may want to reconsider lone working dependant on the employees response, if the diabetes is under control I would still recommend checking your lone worker/emergency procedures to ensure they are robust enough to cope with any situation where a lone worker may find themselves in need of assistance.4) If there is any office policy with regards eating/drinking in certain areas, I have a friend who decided to leave his employer as they were so uptight about him eating at his desk, he is an insulin dependant diabetic who frequently goes 'wobbly' and the quickest way for him to get it back under control is to have a biscuit. So you may also need to look at this aspect of the workplace.And finally 5) you may need to jog the memories of your first aiders as to how to recognise and respond to any incident which may occur. Hope this helps.

Posted By Ron Young Paul Absolutely