As part of the pre-employment process, you will be required to undertake a medical review by our Occupational Health Provider. The type of review required will be determined by the role in which you have applied for. 

Operational roles are roles that have direct contact with people in our care, for example, Operations Officers or Residential Officers. 

Non-Operational roles may have contact with people in our care but do not have responsibility for managing those in our care. These roles include our support services and administrative roles, such as Estates, HR, Finance, Procurement, IT etc.

Please note there is currently no height restriction for our roles.

Health Questionnaire

For non-operational roles that are not based within prison and/or do not require to visit prisons on a regular basis, you will be required to complete a health questionnaire outlining medical history and any ongoing medical conditions. 

If the information provided does not require further exploration via our Occupational Health Provider, you will be assessed as fit for role and no further action will be required. In some cases, if further information is required, a telephone or face-to-face appointment with Occupational Health will be scheduled before a decision is made regarding suitability for employment.

You may also be randomly selected to undertake a substance misuse test, which will require attendance at a face-to-face appointment.

Telephone Consultation & Medical Examination

For roles where there will be contact with those in our care, you will take part in a medical examination with our Occupational Health provider.

 

The first appointment will be a Telephone Consultation. If passed fit at this stage, you will be scheduled to attend a face-to-face medical appointment. At the face-to-face appointment you may be subject to a random substance misuse test.        

 

During the face-to-face appointment, you will be assessed by one of our Occupational Health team who will review overall general physical capacity, in terms of, mobility, agility, strength and stamina.

 

If candidates have a medical condition that could compromise the ability to function effectively in the proposed role this will be taken into consideration and if possible reasonable adjustments will be made. If there is any doubt regarding the suitability for the role, further investigation, information or assessment will be sought.

 

During the medical examination, the following review will be undertaken:

  • The Occupational Health Advisor will measure height and weight to calculate BMI.

    BMIs should ideally be between 19-30. A BMI greater than 30 and less than 35 with no associated cardiovascular, metabolic or musculoskeletal complications is unlikely to impede progression. A BMI of greater than 35 may prevent progression.

    In all cases, underlying health conditions, pregnancy, muscle mass and physical ability will be considered before any decision is made regarding progression/rejection to avoid unfairly discriminating against or disadvantaging candidates. 

    To provide another objective measure a waist circumference may also be undertaken.

  • A vision test will be undertaken and a clinical history to ascertain any current eye conditions and any past history of eye surgery. Each eye is tested separately and both eyes tested together, the standard required to achieve fitness for role as outlined below, is with both eyes open. There is no set standard for each eye alone.

    Corrected Distance Vision – should have vision of 6/12 in either eye and 6/6 or better, binocularly vision.

    Uncorrected Distance Vision – should have 6/36 or better with both eyes open.

    You must achieve the uncorrected standard. If candidates do not attain the required standards of distance vision, a full optician eye test will be required.  You will be provided with a letter to take to the optician. This is then returned to the occupational health provider for review.

    Assessment of visual fields will also be undertaken to ensure the candidate does not have any impaired peripheral vision.

  • You must be able to hear normal conversational voice at 10 feet (3meters) without the use of a hearing aid/s. An OH Advisor will undertake a hearing check to determine this.

    If there is evidence of conversational hearing difficulty during the assessment, you will be referred for a further assessment. You with impaired hearing will require individual assessment regarding their ability to conduct the full contractual role. 

    If there is any evidence of reduced hearing ability you will be advised to attend their GP to discuss, a review appointment will then be made. However, failure to meet the standards for hearing could mean you are unsuitable for the role.

  • The Occupational Health Advisor will test blood pressure and pulse to ensure that it is within a normal, healthy range. Further medical advice may be required if the blood pressure/pulse is out with acceptable levels.

    If when attending the face-to-face medical an individual’s blood pressure is significantly raised you will be provided with a letter to take to their GP and a review appointment booked once seen by the GP. 

    If a high or irregular pulse rate is detected you will be advised to book an appointment with their GP. Raised pulse or blood pressure would prevent you progressing to the fitness test if required for operational staff.

  • Signs of past or present musculoskeletal problems will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The key issue is functional ability in relation to the demands of the role, including control and restraint and personal protection procedures. 

    You should not be progressed if they have a condition which deems them unable to perform control and restraint and/or personal protection procedures.

    The Occupational Health technician will ask you to demonstrate a range of movements in order to assess any limitations.

If you do not meet the necessary standards they may be regarded as temporarily unfit for role. The undertaking of reassessment and their timings will depend upon the nature of the reason for failure to meet the necessary standards. 

If you repeatedly fail to meet the necessary standards will be deemed unfit for role. 

In all cases, consideration will be given to whether reasonable adjustments can be made to support you to achieve the required standards for the role.