Fit is the new sick
February 20, 2008
New plans to revise the Med3 certificate, or “sick note” are expected to be unveiled in the near future. The current purpose of the note, to sign the patient off work, will be changed to a “fit note” so that GPs have to indicate what the employee is still able to do; helping employers to adapt the work or workplace to enable the employee to remain in work. The Government hopes this will come into force in early 2009. Two groups; one of medical practitioners and one of employers are currently consulting on the details of the plans.
BBC news reports that 175 million working days are lost to sickness each year, at a cost of £13 billion. The changes to the Med3 certificate form part of a range of plans designed to cut this number down and also reduce the number of people currently claiming incapacity benefit, which is claimed after six months of claiming statutory sick pay. Another initiative will be work programmes to enable and encourage people on incapacity benefits to go back to work.
The new sick notes plans have not been met with enthusiasm by all parties though. Many GPs are not happy with the responsibility of making judgements on the parts of a job that an employee is able to do, when they are not aware of other workplace variables such as the type of equipment and the general working environment.
If the new system is to work well, the Government may have to introduce clear guidelines for GPs on how to assess workplace suitability, and better communication systems between GPs and employers. One way in which this is already being piloted is in Wales, where GPs send sick notes to employers electronically. I have experienced the difficulties in speed of communication in the past when making a request for a medical report to a GP – being able to email a doctor directly could potentially improve this problem in the future.
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