| ...a day in the life of a mouse |
|
| ...a day in the life of a mouse |
powered by SignMyGuestbook.com
|
|
2008-07-30 - 11:25 a.m. I want to use the phrase ‘comedy of errors’, but the actual term that keeps coming to mind is “gong show”. Pretty much, that’s what the last year has been in terms of getting any help from OH&S and WCB. Over the course of the last 6 months I have spoken to probably a dozen different people, each time having to tell them my issues all over again from the beginning. There has been a constant struggle with making sure everyone has filled in and faxed over the appropriate forms (at one point OH&S was telling me how very important it was that they receive the PINK copy from the WCB request from my family doctor. When I asked my doctor about this, she said they hadn’t used those forms in over a YEAR and they were required to send everything ONLINE! So obviously, OH&S has a superior team working on my case file). One of the forms I had to send to WCB needed to know the name of my caseworker from OH&S. Seeing as I never get to speak to the same person twice, I was really unaware of who that might be, so I had to jump through the 500 flaming hoops that is calling OH&S**. Later that day I got a call back from someone from OH&S asking me what my ‘status’ was. Um…what? The same as it was yesterday? Which is the same as it was a year ago only worse? I was asked if I was back at work yet. Err…yes, seeing as I never LEFT work. Oh, so, you’re still on modified duties/hours then? I explained…AGAIN…that I don’t WANT time off work. What I WANT is physiotherapy so that I don’t HAVE to take time off work, so that I don’t lose my job, and so that I am not permanently crippled. Oh, well, how is the physio going? GAAHHRRHH!!! NO! I haven’t HAD physio yet! THAT’S THE PROBLEM!! I can’t afford physiotherapy! It’s a workplace injury, therefore, WCB is supposed to cover my physio…but I havent’ been able to get ANYWHERE, and all I need to know is who my caseworker is, so I can fax the forms to WCB, so I can get my PHYSIO! Isn’t that why you called??? No. I was calling to see what your status was. What forms for WCB are talking about?? EVENTUALLY, she just got me to fax the forms to HER, and that she would fax them to WCB herself. Ok…fast forward 3 weeks. Letter in the mail from WCB. After reviewing my claim, it turns out I DO qualify for benefits, even though this was a PREEXISTING condition that was merely aggravated by work. ….then goes on to say that as I have no outstanding benefits, my file will now be INACTIVATED!! If I don’t understand this, I am to call, blah blah blah. In a bit of a panic, I call WCB and firstly explain that it is not a preexisting condition…it is the same condition I have had for over 2 years. (I had filed a previous claim last year, but due to other personal shit, I never followed it up). Because of the previous claim, they figured it was 2 separate events…even though on all the forms I filled out I clearly stated that this was the SAME injury…only that it is getting worse because I have had no treatment for it. Finally, hallelujah, someone finally understood me! Then I asked what “your file will now be inactivated” meant…because it couldn’t possibly mean they were closing my file. “Oh, that means we are closing your file.” NOOOO!!! Why are you closing my file when NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE??? (basically, just go back and repeat the last 5 or 6 paragraphs). FINALLY, I have a physio assessment set up for next week. So I go into my boss’s office yesterday, to update her on the situation. She looks at me, frowns, and says, “What are you talking about? So-and-so from OH&S said she talked to you, and that you didn’t want to do anything, and so they closed your file!” Oh. My. GOD. So basically, I had to repeat the whole story AGAIN to my boss. Needless to say, I HATE OH&S, and I told my boss as much. She wholeheartedly agrees. They are of no use to ANYONE! They have not helped me in any way. According to my boss, they have not really helped anyone in any way, and she is about ready to lose her damn mind. (just think…if I’m this frustrated just dealing with MY case, imagine what my boss is going through dealing with sick leave and disability cases for at least half a dozen people?) I am hoping at this point, finally, I have hacked through enough red tape and idiocy that I can actually go to physiotherapy, and get the help I have been asking for for over a year, and then maybe, just maybe, I won’t be in such horrendous, constant pain. Keep your fingers crossed. **You see, they have outsourced OH&S, Human Resources, Payroll, and a number of other departments. To find out what happened to your missing hours on your paycheque, or to report a workplace injury, etc, you have to call a 1-877- number, listen to about 10 mins worth of “for so-and-so department, please press 1….for so-and-so, please press 2…”, and once you have figured out which numbers correspond to your current issue, you then find yourself with 2 choices: wait on hold for up to 45 minutes (I timed it), or press # and leave a call back number. Sometimes you don’t get called back for at least a day and a half. And if, God forbid, you are on a cellphone when they call you back, and you say…go through a tunnel in your car and get cut off, they do NOT call you right back. In fact, you have to start all over again from the beginning!! But the very best part is…when you DO get through to an actual person, they don’t actually help you! No. what they do, is type your problem into their computer, and submitted it to…actually, I have no idea whom they submit it to…and a “ticket number” is created. Then you have to wait (sometimes for only an hour…sometimes for as long as a month) until someone gets around to answering your question. 
|