This paper discusses from the employer's point of view some of the practical considerations that need to be taken into account once a WorkCover claim has been registered by an employee in South Australia. Much time, energy, commitment and financial resources by human resource personnel are devoted to accomplishing rehabilitation and return-to-work objectives, yet employers' views appear to be an area of comparatively little research. Effective risk management, early intervention, a commitment by the injured worker to return to work, a nonadversarial context and competent injury/rehabilitation management at the worksite are critical factors to an early return to work. Clear communication and a rigorous quality service performance by the medical and vocational providers are seen by employers and human resource management as influencing successful rehabilitation and successful return-to-work outcomes. This paper presents some of the common concerns of the employers as major stakeholders, particularly as rehabilitation and return to work is a core function of human resource management; it also sets out some elements that should improve system performance and outcomes.

This paper will analyse the provision of rehabilitation to injured workers with a registered WorkCover claim in South Australia. It presents the comments of key parties on the practice of rehabilitation, approaches to service delivery, and contradictions and paradoxes of the reality of the practice. The comments of workers, employers, case managers, medical practitioners, and of the rehabilitation providers themselves give ample evidence of the complexity of the demands placed upon providers in this system. Emphasis is placed upon their role in presenting the realities of the situation honestly to the worker and in effectively communicating to other stakeholders the particular strategies needed to overcome barriers to successful return-to-work outcomes.

This paper reports conversational interviews with key stakeholders in order to analyse the critical role of the treating medical practitioner in the management of injured workers with a registered WorkCover claim in South Australia. The comments expose the dilemma of treating general practitioners in their dual roles of “gatekeeper” and service provider against a backdrop of the ongoing demands and pressures from claims agents, vested interest groups, litigation, pervading antagonistic process relationships, inflexible work settings and the preoccupation with containing costs. The study highlights the need for treating medical practitioners to understand the WorkCover system and legislation. It is suggested further that their practice would benefit from holistic management, supportive care, clear language, respectful communication, timely medical updates and helpful professional attitudes. It was noted that many medical practitioners favour some redesign of medical management practice encompassing the development of a leadership role and the provision of progressive medical management plans in order to maximise successful return-to-work outcomes for injured workers.

This article is a reflective narrative about the death of a parent told from the perspective of her daughter. It is an experience-based account. This shared journey of mother and child links the familiar realm of the conscious and known self to a realm that is not known in the same way and is not merely the self. It is as if one end is in the midst of life's struggles and crises and the other in another realm; yet the whole works together as a single force. In this way the idea is introduced that the very challenges and trauma of life can be a wound that is a healing of wounds, in so far as it prompts recognition of the realm that is out of sight, though the wound certainly is real enough.