Member Article

Sick notes or 'fit notes'?

Doctors’ sick notes should be replaced with a “fit note” spelling out what ill people can do at work, an official report has recommended. Dame Carol Black, the national director for health and work, is recommending a number of “urgent” reforms aimed at helping people return to work when they get sick.

Dame Carol said: “We cannot go on as we are. There are difficult and challenging messages for everyone, whether they are politicians, healthcare professionals, employers, unions or individuals. We must act now to build on the emerging consensus around a new approach to health and work in Britain.”

Health secretary Alan Johnson said unemployment could be “progressively damaging, leading to more sickness, mental illness, disability, increased use of medication, higher hospital admission rates and shorter life expectancy”.

“Suicide rates are 35 times higher among the long-term unemployed than among those in employment. Dame Carol Black’s report recognises that early intervention is crucial for people with health conditions. We will be looking at the best way to explore Dame Carol’s suggestion of a ‘Fit for Work’ service for people in the early stages of sickness absence. Any such pilot will be evaluated to assess the benefits to individuals and businesses and the level of potential savings which could support the costs.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .