Getting injured workers back to work

Being away from work can have long-lasting impacts on a worker’s physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing. Statistics show that the longer injured workers have off work, the less chance they have of getting back into the workforce and the more likely it is for them to require psychiatric and psychological help. This has prompted WorkSafe Victoria to launch a new campaign to help injured workers get back on their feet and back to work.

“New data shows injured workers who remain off work one year after their injury are six times more likely to access mental health treatment than injured workers who went back to work after a month,” said Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips.

“In 2012, 5% of injured workers who were off work for at least four weeks sought access to mental health treatment.

“After six months off work, 18% sought access to mental health services and after a year off work, 30% of injured workers had sought treatment for mental health,” Rich-Phillips said.

For the next five days, a special installation at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne will be home to an actor playing the part of an injured worker named ‘Pete’. Pete will spend five days replicating the actions injured workers can take over a six-week period to recover and prepare to return to work. He will be visited by the people that play an important role in helping an injured worker back to work - his family, his doctor, his physio, his colleagues and his employer.

WorkSafe Chief Executive Denise Cosgrove said it was not just the injured person’s own determination to get back to work that counted.

“The role played by family and friends, employer, doctor and other medical professionals is crucial in the return to work process,” Cosgrove said.

“If an injured worker is off work for more than 20 days, their chance of getting back to work falls to 70%. After 70 days, it’s down to 35%. That’s why helping an injured worker back to work as soon as it’s safe to do so is so important for them and their families.”

Personal trainer Jack Swift understands the health benefits of getting back to work more than most. He was just 21 and working as a plumber’s labourer on an inner Melbourne construction site when a 14-tonne trenching machine ran over his right leg, crushing it below the knee. Jack was rushed to hospital and his leg was amputated the next day.

Jack said the accident “absolutely turned my life upside down” and described the 13 months he was off work as the worst time of his life. He used his time off work to get a personal fitness qualification. He has since gone on to achieve remarkable success as an athlete, competing in the 2012 Paralympics in London.

He said returning to work after a workplace accident could be difficult but, with the help of family and the correct medical support, it made him who he was today.

“I’ve been in the shoes of an injured person returning to work after a workplace accident and I know the benefits - it’s not just about financial benefits but also the physical, social and mental benefits.”

To learn more, visit the installation on the corner of Collins Street and Spencer Street, or go to www.getpeteonhisfeet.com.au.