Nuffield Health Physiotherapy – Corporate Referrals (Physiotherapy)

Why have I been referred to Nuffield Health Physiotherapy?

Your Line Manager, HR, Occupational Health team or yourself have made a referral for Physiotherapy to complete an assessment and provide appropriate treatment to assist with your symptoms which could be impeding your working life.

What information will my employer share with Nuffield Health about me?

Nuffield Health will receive the referral from your employer or yourself (depending on your employer’s scheme) via the Nuffield Health Portal or via telephone. The referral will include your employer, your name, date of birth, personal address, telephone and email. It may also include body site affected, location of work, whether you are currently at work and job title.

Will Nuffield Health always produce a report?

Depending on your employer’s scheme you may have a triage call with one of our Physiotherapists who will ask you for more information and they will be assessing which course of treatment would be most beneficial to you. Depending on your employers scheme a report may be produced at this point.

If it is clinically appropriate to have a Face-to-Face appointment, depending on the scheme type will influence whether a report is created or not. In addition, the scheme will dictate if the report is shared with your employer. If reports are shared in part this is directly related to authorisation of treatment sessions.

What will the report contain?

If you have been invited in for a Face-to-Face assessment a report will be created for you. Each report is a bit different depending on your symptoms and treatment, but generally each report will contain: clinical diagnosis; injury cause; clinical findings; treatment plan; factors which could affect recovery and current work status (e.g. are you currently off work).

What is the purpose of the report and who is it shared with?

The report is used for several different purposes. The report:

1. is shared with Nuffield Health’s Clinical Governance team for a second line clinical review
2. seeks approval for clinically appropriate treatment sessions over those that Nuffield Health have been approved to provide you
3. provides your Occupational Health Team with the conclusion of your physiotherapy assessment and treatment, so that they can take this into account with regards to any adaptations or adjustments required for you at work.

Can I see a copy of my report before it is shared with anyone else?

Due to the automation of the process and the service requirement to share this report you are not able to see the report before it is shared with your employer. However, you can ask your Physiotherapist to discuss with you the kind of information you will expect to find in your report at your face-to-face appointment. We are happy to provide you with a copy of this report which can be request via your Physiotherapist or via the formal Subject Access Request Process. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about exercising rights over your information.   

Do I have the ability to object to my report being shared?

You have been referred to Nuffield Health Physiotherapy by your employer’s Occupational Health Team, for one of the purposes outlined above. As the sharing of the report with your employer’s Occupational Health Team is a key to achieving the purpose of the referral this will need to be shared with your employer to ensure that the any work place adjustments can be implemented. Therefore, if you decide to attend a face-to-face physiotherapy appointment you will not have the ability to refuse to have your report shared with your employer. If you do not want a report shared with your employer then you are withdrawing from the physiotherapy service. Please be advised if your employer refers you to Physiotherapy and you withdraw from the service and no report is shared with your employer’s Occupational Health Team, they can make decisions about your ability to work without our expertise.

Don’t you need my consent to share information about me with third parties?

Not always. In accordance with the Data Protection Legislation we are required to ensure we share your information lawfully. This means we need to ensure we have a specific reason to share your information. If the sharing of your information is necessary, e.g. to uphold patient safety, to perform a contract, to do something you have asked us to do then we do not always need to ask for your consent. If you give us your consent you should be able to freely choose whether your information is shared or not, but where the sharing of your information is necessary we do not want to give you a choice that you do not really have (which is the case with this service).

Where can I find out more information about how my information may be shared?

You can always ask a member of Nuffield Health staff who would be more than happy to help. We have more information on our website as well in our Privacy Policy.

Will my GP know about my Physiotherapy treatment?

We will not automatically share your report with your NHS GP. If there is a clinical indication that you need to see your GP (for example, your private medical insurance has requested that you go via your GP for a specialist referral) we will provide you either with a clinical letter or a copy of your report for you to take to your GP.

My employer offers Physiotherapy as an employee benefit as part of our healthcare scheme, is this different to being referred to Nuffield Health by my employer?

Yes. If you are referred to the physiotherapy service by your employer this is because they want to receive further information about your ability to work in your current role and they need our expertise to provide that advice.

If you book a physiotherapy appointment as part of your employee benefits, you will decide if/when you want to make an appointment. Schemes may be through private medical insurance or directly through your employer. Schemes vary with regards to the maximum number of treatment sessions that Nuffield Health can complete before gaining further authorisation if this is the case we will usually need to share a report with the authoriser.

* This refers to either your organisations Occupational Health Team or a third-party Occupational Health Service which has been procured by your organisation.

To find out more about your data's journey through Nuffield Health, click here.