Fit for Work, previously the Health and Work Service, is being re-launched following a review of the country’s sickness absence system. Currently being rolled out nationwide and expected to be fully available by the end of 2015, it will offer free occupational health assistance to employees, employers and GPs.
The review, conducted by Dame Carol Black and David Frost CBE, looked into the sickness absence system in Great Britain and prompted the Government to establish a health and work assessment and advisory service to make occupational health advice more readily available to employers and employees, enabling them to manage sickness absence more effectively.
“Being in work is good for people’s wellbeing and can help them to recover,” said Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform. “Fit for Work will help employers and their staff to manage sickness absence and aid the return-to-work process.”
Currently the Fit for Work service has two elements up and running: firstly, access to a website portal that contains health and work information, and, secondly, a telephone advice service open to employers, employees and GPs.
Further to this, a referral system under which qualifying employees on a period of sickness absence lasting four weeks or more can be referred for a free, confidential occupational health assessment and a return to work plan is being rolled out across the country and is expected to be fully instated by May 2015.
Since the 1st January this year, a tax exemption of up to £500 (per year, per employee) has been in place on medical treatments recommended by health professionals within the Fit for Work service and within employer-arranged occupational health services to help employees return to work.
In preparation for Fit for Work the Government conducted a study to estimate the likely rate of referral to the new service by GPs. Entitled ‘Exploring Future GP Referral to Fit for Work’, the study used data collected from fit notes issued by GPs from the end of October 2013 to the end of January 2014, together with additional information supplied by the GPs involved.
It concluded that GPs were likely to refer 36% of their eligible patients (those absent, or at risk of an absence, from work for four weeks or more) to the new service. The DWP has said that this could mean the new service handling around 310,000 to 450,000 referrals a year, although it also cautioned that the proportion of referrals varied considerably between practices, from 11% to 72%.
The study highlighted that GPs felt they would be more likely to refer patients with a mental health or musculoskeletal health problem and for patients with longer fit notes. GPs also reported that they would be more likely to refer patients to the new service if it was open to a wide range of patients, e.g. not just employed people, and if they had a good understanding of what the service offered and evidence that it would be beneficial.
According to the report, issues that would make GPs generally less likely to make referrals included if they thought the level of service was poor, not easily accessible or too complicated and/or they felt the type of service provided would not help their patient.
Patients with a clear recovery path and who were likely to return to work in due course were also less likely to be referred to the new service by GPs, as were patients with low motivation to return to work and patients already receiving help from an employer-based occupational health service, the report showed.
