The DWP has announced a new pilot scheme in four areas of England where GPs will no longer issue fit notes to some patients – but will the reform reach Cambridgeshire?
GPs will no longer issue sick notes in certain regions under a new government pilot scheme designed to overhaul the failing system.
Approximately 11 million “fit notes” are produced annually under the current arrangements, with more than nine out of ten declaring individuals unfit for work. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced that in four areas of England the trial will examine the most effective way to “end this tick-box exercise” for employees who become unwell.
Some patients taking part will receive an initial fit note from a GP before being referred to community health workers. Others will go through the entire process without an initial fit note from a GP and instead receive support through a separate service staffed by clinical and non-clinical practitioners.
The pilots will be launched in Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Lancashire and South Cumbria.
The Government said this is the first step of “radical fit note reform”, with patients, healthcare staff and employers providing input ahead of legislation being brought forward for changes to the “broken system”, reports the Mirror.
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.”
Care minister Stephen Kinnock said NHS staff had repeatedly highlighted that the current fit note system is not working for patients or clinicians who sign them off.
He added: “These pilots mark the beginning of the end for that broken system, giving people personalised support to get back into work and freeing up GPs from unnecessary admin so they can focus on what they do best: caring for their patients. This is what our 10 Year Health Plan is all about – earlier support, from the right people, in the right place.”
National Voices, a coalition of health and social care charities, gave a warm welcome to the pilots and the proposed reforms. Chief executive Jacob Lant said: “The current tick-box system for fit notes isn’t working for anyone, particularly patients. It makes people who are unwell jump through unnecessary admin hoops, and yet the process rarely offers people the support they need to get well and manage their conditions long-term.
“The Department for Work and Pensions is absolutely right to test out new ways of supporting those who are signed off, and it is vital that patients are fully involved in that testing process, able to feed back over what works and what doesn’t. This is the only way to reliably avoid unintended consequences and create a system that actually helps both those who can’t work and those who would be able to with the appropriate support.”
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