Posted By Ian Dakin
Hello

I am currently looking at the risks to an office worker who has Lupus.

She is currently receiving treatment via the NHS, but still suffers from joint pain (sometimes intense) and is fatigued when she gets home from work.

She has had a DSE assessment and I have carried out an assessment of the environment she works in. All the measurements were OK.

She is being referred to an immunologist through our workplace occupational health procedures.

Does anyone have any experience of managing the H&S of a Lupus sufferer or any tips on how to proceed?

Regards
Ian Dakin

Posted By Angela Oakey-Jones
Hi Ian,

A family friend of mine suffers with Lupus and spends a great deal of time as an in-patient at St Thomas' Hospital in London where there's a specialist treatment unit.

It's probably worth contacting them to learn more about the nature of Lupus (from my scant knowledge, the immune system can attack healthy tissue at almost any time, and as a condition, it can be made worse by things like sunlight.) Also there's a really helpful charity called Lupus UK (www.lupusuk.com)

If I were you I'd probably set up some kind of rolling risk assessment, akin to an ongoing assessment during pregnancy, where the person contacts you (and their boss) when they detect changes in their condition - you can't be psychic, but you should stay in touch.

Hope this helps

Angela