GPs should 'not sign off long-term sick'

[4me2]

GPs should 'not sign off long-term sick'

People should be signed off for long-term sickness by an independent assessment service and not GPs, a government-backed review says.
The review also suggests tax breaks for firms which employ people who suffer from long-term conditions.
It is estimated the changes would send 20% of those off sick back to work.


A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "The government is committed to supporting more people with health conditions to work."

Around 300,000 people a year are absent from work due to long-term sickness.


The review also calls for a new government backed job-brokering service, to find work for people cannot stay in their current job because of their condition.
A survey suggested 77% of GPs had admitted they signed people off sick for reasons other than their physical health, the report authors told the BBC.




The government asked Professor Carol Black and the former head of the British Chambers of Commerce David Frost to consider radical changes to deal with the human and financial cost of sickness absence in the workplace.


Tax breaks

If the recommendations are accepted people who are signed off sick would also be put on to Job Seekers' Allowance, instead of Employment Support Allowance, for a period of three months.
They would receive less money and have to prove they were looking for work.
Tax breaks for firms which employ people who suffer from long-term conditions are also being suggested.


The DWP spokesman said: "The economy loses £15bn in lost economic output each year due to sickness absence and we cannot continue to foot this bill.
"But even more important is the impact of needless inactivity on people's lives, the damage to their aspirations and their health and the damage to their families and communities."


BBC political correspondent Robin Brant said the new service was likely to assess people "more quickly and more stringently".
The report authors estimate the changes could save taxpayers at least £350m each year.


Analysis

Robin Brant Political correspondent



The authors of the independent review believe that one in five of people currently on "the sick" could be back at work if their recommendations are accepted.
That is the kind of change that David Cameron and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith want to see if they are to deal with a welfare dependency which they believe has spiralled out of control.
There's talk of tax incentives for firms to take on or retain staff with long-term conditions and government-backed help to find a more appropriate job for those who can no longer do what they have been doing could also be on offer.
Both the prime minister and Labour's Ed Miliband have talked recently about a "something for something" society.
The emphasis is on putting in if you want to get something out.
But there will be concern, particularly among the most vulnerable, especially those who suffer fluctuating illnesses, about how stringent and flexible any new assessment could be.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15801515

[blaggard]

Fucking ridiculous, yet another case of having a dog and barking yourself, I thought the Tories wanted less bureaucracy?
I am currently signed off for what will be 6-8 Months while I approach surgery and then recover from it, I can hardly move across the room some days and at best move very slowly with a stick, most of the time I can't stand or sit for more than 10-15 minutes so unless they can find me something to do lying on my left side I'm fucked, A GP can't figure that one out ffs?!