Vocational Assessment

When it has been determined by the nominated treating Doctor that an injured worker is unlikely to be able to return to their pre-injury duties, this assessment identifies the person's potential for other work.

Who performs this assessment?

Rehabilitation Counselor or Registered Psychologist.

What is involved?

This assessment entails determining what transferable job skills the person possesses, what work experience and education they have achieved and considers the current compensated injury to determine what type of work the person is now physically capable of performing.

Information Provided?

This information is then discussed with the injured worker to determine the best possible "return-to-work goal" for a new position. It is also important to consider the state of the labour market for the goal identified, as some goals may not be attainable if the labour market in your local area does not support it (i.e. if there are no job vacancies for the type of work you would like them to perform). If some form of short term retraining or upgrading of skills is required to make the injured worker more competitive in the labour market, LHS would recommend this to the insurer for approval at this time.

Functional Capacity Evaluation

Who performs this assessment?

Accredited physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

How does this relate to the workplace?

The Australian-developed "Workhab" Functional Assessment assesses an injured employee's physiological and biomechanical responses to job-specific or job-related activities and compare them to a pre-defined job analysis.

Purpose of the Assessment:

To determine the worker's functional and physical capacities and the limitations for returning to the workforce and independent living.

How is it done?

This is an assessment of physiological response (through heart rate monitoring) to different types of activities ranging from lifting through to static and dynamic postures. It also accurately identifies correlations between activities; the workers perceived exertion level and reported pain levels.

Examples of activities are:

• Lifting

• Carrying

• Standing / sitting

• Joint range of movement

• Stair climbing

• Pushing / pulling

• Upper limb activities

• Squatting / kneeling

Such activities are carried out over various time periods to assess endurance maximums over a safe working range.

What will you receive?

Upon completion of the assessment, a report is written by the assessor and distributed to referrer with detailed information about how the participant responded to the assessment and the overall recommendations for ability to perform physical tasks.