Date posted: 10/05/2017
Audience
- Civil Service employers – individuals responsible for making referrals to the Scheme Medical Adviser (SMA) for ill-health retirements, injury benefits and other pension scheme-related advice
- New Fair Deal employers – individuals responsible for ill-health retirement referrals (New Fair Deal members are not however eligible for Civil Service injury benefits)
- Departmental Occupational Health Providers
Action
- Decide which individuals should join the Webex training sessions and provide them with the log-in details for attending
Timing
Detail
- In EPN 487 (25 January 2017) we announced that the Scheme Medical Adviser (SMA) will be changing from Health Assured to Health Management Limited (HML). As a result, from 1 July 2017, the process for referring cases to the SMA will move from a paper-based system to a secure online portal.
- In EPN 489 (17 February 2017) we told you that Cabinet Office and HML would be arranging training sessions for organisations that will use HML’s SMA service. These sessions will be scheduled for 11, 12 and 18 May 2017 and each will cover all that you need to know to make referrals through the new portal. The details of the sessions are in the table below. You are not required to pre-book attendance, simply log-on to the session of your choosing.
- Please note that there are a maximum of 200 log-ins per training session. We therefore ask you to carefully consider who from your organisation should join a session so that as many people as possible can attend. In general, we recommend that individuals who currently make referrals to the SMA (for example members of your Departmental HR function or your Shared Service Provider) should attend. The role of your Departmental Occupational Health Provider will change under the new process and so we also recommend that they attend.
- If you are unable to join one of the sessions, we will record one and make it available online - details to follow.
- If you are unable to log-in to a session because it is over-subscribed, please try a different session. If you are unable to log-in to any of the sessions and wish to join a future one, please let us know at SMATraining@cabinetoffice.gov.uk . We will consider arranging further sessions where there is sufficient demand.
Webex sessions
The Webex sessions will take place on:
- Each event will start at 10am and run for one hour. The main training will take about 30 minutes. This will be followed by 30 minutes for Q&As and clarifications.
- To access a Webex session, log-in using the day-specific URL, meeting number and (if necessary) password in the table above and then follow the online instructions. We are including Webex login guidance as an annex to this EPN. The ‘Navigation Around Webex - Quick Reference Login Guide’ provides guidance on what to do after you have used the URL links above.
User Guidance
- In addition to the Webex sessions, HML has produced User Guidance that takes users through the various stages of the online referral process, from registering and receiving an access code and login, to tracking cases and finally receiving the SMA’s advice. A copy is attached to this EPN.
Annexes
- Civil Service Scheme Medical Adviser Portal User Guidance
Other information
If you require further assistance on the content of this EPN please contact andy.black@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you have a question about the distribution of EPNs contact employerpensionnotice@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
You can find electronic copies of the Employer Pension Guide, all current EPNs and forms on our website.
This notice is for employers and should not be issued to scheme members.
If members have a question about their pension they can find information on this website or by contacting MyCSP.
