A new sick note regulation is being introduced in England as the country witnesses its welfare bill soar to eight million benefit claimants.
Sick notes are set to be abolished in a bid to get Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) claimants back into employment. GP practices and surgeries will scrap “sick notes” under a new government trial. This follows the issuing of more than 11 million “fit notes” last year alone. The proposed shake-up aims to reduce the number of benefit claimants signed off work due to poor health.
Rather than receiving sick notes from doctors, the new pilot scheme will instead direct struggling workers to surgery-based “social prescribers.”
This encompasses alternatives such as exercise programmes and career coaching to keep them in work, according to the Times newspaper.
The government will also deploy its WorkWell coaching scheme – available to DWP claimants – to support those issued with fit notes, the newspaper adds, reports Birmingham Live.
Under the sweeping reforms, GPs are additionally set to refer patients to the gym, in changes previously highlighted by Birmingham Live.
Sir Charlie Mayfield, chairman of John Lewis, stated that the fit-note system was “not working as intended”. Sir Charlie, having been enlisted by the government, recommended reform in an official review of out-of-work sickness last year.
WorkWell is a health and employment support service delivering integrated, holistic early assistance for individuals facing health-related barriers to work.
From July, the NHS will test new approaches through four existing WorkWell sites, backed by £3 million in the first year. The areas will test the following models:
-
Birmingham and Solihull – GPs issue the first fit note where needed, with all patients referred to a new support service led primarily by non-clinical staff, including social prescribers and work and health coaches
-
Coventry and Warwickshire – GPs issue the first fit note, with patients able to be referred to a support service made up of both clinical and non-clinical staff
-
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – GPs refer patients directly to a non-clinical support service, without issuing a fit note
-
Lancashire and South Cumbria – GPs refer patients to a support service made up of both clinical and non-clinical staff, without issuing a fit note.
The government website states that WorkWell is designed for anyone with a disability or health condition who is currently employed or could potentially enter the workforce with the appropriate support.
The far-reaching shake-up forms a key part of Labour’s Plan for Change, as the government shifts away from a system that “manages sickness to one that promotes health, work and prosperity”, he said.
This follows the launch of a broader £64 million WorkWell scheme by the government back in October last year.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden, said: “Fit notes are too often a dead end – a piece of paper that tells people they can’t work but does nothing to help them get better.
“We’re changing that. By bringing employers, the NHS, and patients together we can help people recover faster, stay connected to their jobs, and get the economy firing on all cylinders. That’s what these pilots are about, and that’s what this Government is committed to – fixing what is broken.”