Promoting workplace health encompasses more than just introducing activities to help employees stay healthy. At times, it calls for the re-rationalising of a job assignment when a staff experiences a change in health status, so as to prevent further illness or injury, as well as to minimise the effect on the staff's work performance.

When Judy sustained a serious injury to her knee caps, the organisation assessed her health condition and suitability for the type of work she was undertaking, as part of the Fitness-To-Return-To-Work Programme. This is her story.

Judy Lim is the person who enables DSO employees to drive through DSO's security gates with almost no hassle.

Yet, administering the car parking system with the Security Branch was not always Judy's main area of responsibility.

Prior to working with Security Branch, Judy was attached to the Corporate Support Department's (CSD) Document Administration Branch in 2000. At that time, her responsibilities at the Registry included the handling of bags of mail and parcels that came through DSO's offices. These bags are usually very heavy and with the repeated bending down and lifting of the bags, it aggravated the pain in her knee, which she was already experiencing.

Her condition worsened despite undergoing physiotherapy and prescriptions of supplements by her orthopaedic surgeon.

"Although my doctor advised me to avoid carrying the bags, I could not just stop doing it. It was my work," says Judy. When the pain grew more intense and regular, she re-visited her doctor and underwent surgery on both knees. Over three months in 2003, 'harvested' ligaments were transplanted into her knee caps.

Her recuperation proved to be a very trying period. "It was quite frustrating. As I was confined to the wheelchair most of the time, I could not do things that I would normally be able to. I had to rely on my family for most things," says Judy.

After a few months of resting at home, she looked forward to easing herself back into work. However, as her knees were still weak, Judy had to exercise special care in her movements - using a walking aid and moving extremely slowly. She shares, "The greatest difficulty I faced was in handling the mail. I could not strain my knees, my movements were hampered and thus I was unable to handle the bags. My colleagues were concerned, and helped whenever they could."

Noticing the difficulty she faced, DSO management reviewed her job scope. Judy then focused on doing filing and she also learnt to administer the car parking system.

"I understood her apprehensions about the impact her condition had on her work. The opportunity for Judy to take on work requiring less physical exertion came about when CSD was tasked to review the car parking system," says Chua Chek Khoon, Manager, Document Administration Branch (Judy's former Manager).

Sometime in 2005, a re-assignment of tasks saw the transfer of the management of the car parking system to Security Branch, for more efficient security clearance and allocation of car park space to staff.

As Judy was already familiar with managing the system, she was transferred to Security Branch. Chek Khoon says, "On hindsight, CSD's role in reviewing the car parking system was timely, as it helped to accommodate Judy's health needs and allow her to continue working with us."

Since February 2005, DSO has rolled out initiatives to manage changes in a staff's health status on their work. These include the Fitness-To-Return-To-Work (FRW) Programme to provide a safe and healthy work environment.

The FRW is designed to help staff when they return to work after taking extended medical leave or leave of absence for certain medical conditions, via suitable job assignments to avoid further illness or injury. It involves a medical assessment by a Designated Factory Doctor (DFD) and a review by the DSO Occupational Health Panel.