Sun, 1 May 2011

Doctors agree fit note policy is a success

A Department for Work and Pensions survey finds that two-thirds of GPs believe the ‘fit note’ has helped patients return to work.

The fit note, introduced last year, allows a GP to tick a box saying the person is ‘fit for some work’, moving away from the ‘all-or-nothing’ sick note system. The fit note also permits doctors to recommend workplace alterations to help someone work who may not be fully mobile.

In the survey, 70% of doctors agreed the fit note had assisted patients return to work, and 61% said it had improved the quality of the consultations they had with their patients about work. Just under half, 48%, said the note had made them more likely to recommend that a patient return to employment.

The move to encourage people on long-term sickness benefits to return to work has been supported by both the previous Labour administration and the coalition Government. There have been significant increases in the numbers of sickness and disability claimants over the past two decades.

Welfare reform minister Lord Freud said: ‘Improving communication between GPs, individuals and their employers is critical if we are to stop people, when they develop a health condition, needlessly falling out of work and risking a lifetime of benefit dependency. The fit note is a key part of this.’