Occupational Health in English and Polish

Bilingual OH&S service to support the Polish-speaking workforce

Discussing health concerns is most comfortable in one’s mother tongue. Our medical director, Dr Greg Palka, is a bilingual English-Polish occupational health physician.

Greg graduated from Jagiellonian University Medical School in Kraków, Poland, and completed his occupational health training in the UK. With his double qualification and more than ten years of experience in the UK, Greg offers comprehensive assessments in English and Polish.

Occupational Health for Polish-speaking workforce

Native-language communication about work and health ensures a smooth process and often solves long-standing communication-related problems.

A proportion of Polish-speaking employees may have medical reports from Poland.

Our ability to undertake OH consultations in English or Polish helps ensure effective, accurate communication. It also reduces the additional costs, delays, and often misunderstandings that can arise from translation challenges. Employees feel heard, understood, and professionally supported.

Our bilingual occupational health service helps ensure accurate communication and minimises additional costs and disruption.

The occupational health advice is accurate, and details do not get lost in translation.

In our experience some Polish-speaking employees are able (or more comfortable) discussing the employment and health-related matters in their native language. Our support for Polish-speaking employees often helps us the employees and employers overcome long-standing case management issues complicated by communication problems both in occupational health and primary care.

All our appointments are available in English and Polish:

✓ Fitness for work assessments, e.g., for drivers, asbestos workers or safety-critical (e.g., offshore) workers.

✓ Management referrals

✓ Advice on fitness for work

✓ Advice on fitness to return to work after sickness absence

✓ Recommendations on temporary or permanent workplace adjustments and restrictions

✓ Advice on ill health retirement

UK OH Standards and Compliance

We work in the UK and adhere to UK professional standards, including the GCP Good Clinical Practice and the FOM Good Occupational Health Practice.

GMC GMP Domain 2 ‘Patients, partnership and communication’ highlights: “You must take steps to meet patients’ language and communication needs, so you can support them to engage in meaningful dialogue and make informed decisions about their care).

The HSE advises that foreign-speaking employees are considered vulnerable workers. The employers are reminded about their duty to provide suitable support including comprehensive information to migrant workers.

Occupational Health in Poland and overseas

Occupational health regulations differ between Poland and the UK. Polish employment law requires employees to undergo periodic face-to-face medical examinations with local occupational health physicians. Therefore, the role of remote assessments is limited under Polish law. Employees in Poland require periodic face-to-face medical check-ups with local occupational health physicians.

While Polish and UK occupational health regulations differ, we provide flexible solutions. We offer bilingual OH support to British employers in the UK and overseas through remote consultations. For example, we help employers in Poland who need UK-standard OH advice for their remote workforce based in the UK.