Sick notes ‘scrapped’ under plans to reduce benefit claimants
GPs will stop issuing sick reports to patients across the country as the government announces a new trial to reduce the number of people unemployed due to health problems.
The changes, which initially affect hundreds of thousands of workers across four locations in England, will see claimants referred to support services that will create personalized “return to work” plans for them.
Announcing the launch of the trial, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it would overhaul the current “broken” compliance rating system, which is often a “tick box exercise”.
He points to statistics showing that 11 million qualifying notes are issued each year, and nine-tenths of them declare the recipient unfit to work.
Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden said: “Compliance notes are often a dead end – a piece of paper that tells people they can’t work but does nothing to help them recover.
“We are changing that. By bringing employers, the NHS and patients together we can help people recover faster, stay connected to work 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’s broken.”
The plan builds on comments last year by John Lewis chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield, who said the suitability rating system was “not working as intended” and called for a formal review.
The previous Conservative government announced plans to reform the “sick-call culture” shortly before losing the 2024 general election to Labor. The plans were halted after doctors criticized the proposals.
Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “GPs take seriously our responsibility to publish appropriate notes appropriately, but the current system can involve significant administrative work that robs patient care of time.
“We are open to exploring evidence-based reforms that could help improve outcomes for patients. However, any reforms to the appropriate marking process must put patients’ health and wellbeing first, be fully resourced and avoid creating additional workload for general practice. We therefore look forward to seeing a comprehensive evaluation of this pilot.”
DWP and the NHS will test the new approach through existing WorkWell sites, a health and employment support service launching in 2024. These will impact up to 100,000 appointments over a year, and the pilots will vary slightly at each location:
- Birmingham and Solihull – GPs issue initial suitability note as needed; all patients are directed to a new support service run primarily by non-clinical staff, including social prescribers and business and health coaches.
- Coventry and Warwickshire – GPs issue first suitability note with patients able to be referred to a support service comprising both clinical and non-clinical staff
- Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – GPs refer patients directly to a non-clinical support service without making appropriate note
- Lancashire and South Cumbria – GPs are referring patients to a support service consisting of both clinical and non-clinical staff without making an appropriate note.
James Taylor, strategy director at disability equality charity Scope, said: “We know that the eligibility score itself and the process need to improve for individuals and employers.
“Positive pilots are being run to understand how we can improve the system and keep people in work.
“Disabled people face barriers at every stage of working life and are almost twice as likely to leave work as non-disabled people.
“The DWP needs to listen to the experiences of disabled people and understand the impact of decisions made. They also need to accept that some people may not be able to work.”
