The DWP wants to ‘end the tick-box exercise’
GPs will stop issuing sick notes in certain regions as part of a new government pilot scheme designed to reform the failing system.
Currently, approximately 11 million “fit notes” are issued annually, with over nine in ten marking the person as unfit for work. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that four English regions will trial new ways to “end this tick-box exercise” for employees who become unwell.
Participating patients will receive either an initial fit note from their GP before being referred to community health workers, or bypass the GP fit note entirely and access support through an alternative service with both clinical and non-clinical staff.
The trials will roll out in Birmingham and Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and Lancashire and South Cumbria. Officials describe this as the opening phase of “radical fit note reform”, with feedback from patients, medical professionals and employers informing upcoming legislation to address 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 noted that NHS personnel have consistently raised concerns that the existing fit note system isn’t functioning properly for either patients or the clinicians who authorise them.
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, has expressed support for both the pilots and the proposed reforms. Chief Executive Jacob Lant commented: “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.”
He added: “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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