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Are there any serving police officers on warfarin

Posted , 6 users are following.

sarah2805
sarah2805

My husband had a PE last year and no cause can be established, he has no blood condition diagnosed and did not have a DVT but the consultants have differing opinions, one said warfarin for 6. Months and the other lifelong.

In addition to this his work have said they may look to medically retire him even though he is completely fit and healthy in every way, just purely because risk of confrontation whilst on warfarin.

Any information or advise greatly appreciated and views from any police still working who are on this drug.

Kind regards Sarah

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • rob60599
    rob60599 sarah2805

    Posted

    Hi Sarah,

    i just came across your posting and i thought it was interesting. Although i am not a serving police officer I was diagnosed with a bloodclot about four months ago and am on warfarin for life now. What i thought was interesting is that my employer said the same thing your on warfarin therefore we are looking to medically retire you. I am a teacher and at 39 im still in fairly good health.

    It seems as though employers see the word warfarin and instantly declare you medically unfit for anything (although in your husbands case it might be problematic if he got in a fight with an offender) I contacted the occupational health and they stated that employers cannot retire you on medical issues only they can. Maybe contact a union if your husband is in one for clarification. I hope this helps

    Rob

    • sarah2805
      sarah2805 rob60599

      Posted

      Hi rob, thank for your reply and sorry to hear your in a very similar position as my husband. He too is only 39! I think you are right that it is just fear of the word but you cannot live your life in a complete bubble, it's about making reasonable adjustments and not taking unnecessary risks. Based on the reaction of work you wouldn't be able to even work in a shop in case a tin falls off a shelf which is just unrealistic. I am keen to establish if this a common problem as if so it needs challenging as they are descriminating a person because of a condition. Also if you do not mind me asking are you life long because you have been diagnosed with a blood condition or purely as a precaution as we had different advise from consultants, kind regards Sarah
    • rob60599
      rob60599 sarah2805

      Posted

      Hi Sarah,  i agree that just because people have a condition they shouldn't be written off completely. When i last saw my employer it felt as though they were happy to retire me without even giving me the chance to go back to work. Its totally wrong. In answer to your question the reason i'm on warfarin for life is because i've had two bloodclots now 7 years apart and after being tested I have a blood protein condition. I have to say that it was a big job to get referred to a blood specialist and took 3 months of continual asking. I too was given lots and lots of conflicting information about warfarin and tinzaparin injections and recovery times everthing from a month to a year .... Going back to retirement, its not even viable for middle aged people because there are different scales and PE's and DVT 's come very low down the scale and so you might scrape £50 a week theres no point in it at all especially like your husband and I when we are in fairly good health.

      regards Rob 

    • derek76
      derek76 sarah2805

      Posted

      Presumably Hemophiliacs cannot join the police.

      What do the Police Federation say about it?

    • sarah2805
      sarah2805 derek76

      Posted

      Hi Derek we are just starting to try and ascertain what the position is. It is complicated as my husband does not have any blood disorder or diagnosis. It is recorded as an unexplained PE and therefore warfarin is precautionary. Federation advise will be sought,

      Kind regards Sarah

    • derek76
      derek76 rob60599

      Posted

      Why would they want to retire a teacher for being on Wafarin? It does not affect your abilty to teach.

      Next they will be saying that you cannot have a driving job in case you have an accident.

    • rob60599
      rob60599 derek76

      Posted

      Hi Derek,

      it seems as though employers see/hear the word warfarin and it scares them. In my job I teach plumbing and so it sometimes involves workshop activities and there seems a popular misconception that if you cut yourself whilst on warfarin that you will bleed to death in seconds....

      I guess employers are scared of what they think may happen and its easier to retire people.

       

    • ali07969
      ali07969 sarah2805

      Posted

      Hi Sarah

      I was just wondering if there was an update on what happened to your husband as mine is in exactly the same situation currently.

      Thanks

      Ali

    • sarah2805
      sarah2805 ali07969

      Posted

      Hi ali,

      I am sorry to hear that your husband has been unwell. With regard to our situation we did have somewhat of a struggle both with work and consultants having differing opions. We eventually managed to be referred to a consultant called Dr baglin at addenbrooks hospital who was a breath of fresh air. He completed further tests and was pragmatic in assisting us in decoding how to move forward. My husband is no longer on warfarin but is now on daily aspirin which ironically has higher risks of bleed than warfarin but the job has no issue with it. So with regard to work he is now back to full duty although he remains on medication for sarcoidosis (which is what we now believe to be the cause for his pe). Ihope this helps....

  • david80454
    david80454 sarah2805

    Posted

    Hi Sarah, I am a serving PCSO in the Met police and I have been using Wafrin for 12 months now as I had previously had a stroke. Although I've returned to work fit and well and responding well to the medication and my INR readings are at the required level our force medical advisor has stated I can return to duty in uniform but cannot patrol. I have 15 years police service with Cambs and now the Met and have not clarified what I can do and will not retire me on medical grounds as I possess all of my cognitive functions. I am fitter and feel better and better but the Met police won't take the risk of returning me to my neighbourhood policing team as there could be a risk that I could bleed if I was in a confrontational situation. I am currently in Limbo career wise but don't know what to do or where next to go? I would be happy to hear your husbands dealings with occupational health
    • cory82174
      cory82174 david80454

      Posted

      Hello David, first let me start off by thanking you for your service. I'm not exactly in your cirlce yet, however I'm stuck on clearing medical with a local agency here in SC. Do to the fact that I'm blood thinners "Xarelta" I at this time can't be medically cleared by their medical/dr until I'm able to come off my blodd thinners. Even though at the age of 43 I'm more fit than I've been in years. As well as having a few people within the department pulling for me. I'm waiting for my 2nd opinion results, and it if need be seek a holistic Dr for opinions. Even though I know that traditional medicine or Dr propably won't clear me. I just wondered your opinion in how to possibly go about this? If for sme reason I can't clear, meing I couldn't get patrol, I hope there are some other options with the department so that I may serve my community.

      ?Thank You

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