THE DEATH OF THE SICK NOTE?

A review commissioned by the Government could spell the end for GP sick notes. National Director for Health and Work, Dame Carol Black, has advised that the current system of sick notes should be replaced by a “fit for work service” so that GPs do not have to give out multiple paper sick notes.

Her report stated that “GPs sign sick notes because they feel they have no alternative available.”

The scheme would not just apply to absence from work following an accident, for example the time taken to recover from a work accident or a road accident, but also absence due to everyday illnesses and diseases.

The recommendations have been welcomed by Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of the British Medical Association, who said:

“The BMA has long called for the sick note system to be reviewed.  GPs are often placed in a difficult position when issuing sick notes to patients in the early stages of their illness and it is not always possible for them to confirm whether a patient is well enough to do their job.”

COMMENT:-

The suggestion is that GPs would produce a note for employers indicating what type of tasks an employee could undertake while recovering from an injury or illness.  The aim being to get people back to work and limit claims for State benefits.  Employers may well find the proposed new scheme difficult to implement and many fear that they will face a greater number of claims for personal injury compensation made by employees who suffer an accident at work while tackling a job they are not really fit enough to cope with.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM SOLICITORS:-

If you have suffered any form of accident at work or industrial disease and have had to take time off to recover, contact personal injury specialists Hinchliffes Solicitors for immediate legal advice, to find out if you are entitled to make claims for injury compensation.

Call now on 0800 138 1348 to speak direct to a personal injury lawyer or go to our Start Your Claim Now page to submit details of your personal injury claim online.

Tags: accident, claim, claims, compensation, injury, personal injury specialists, road accident, sick note, solicitors, work

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 11:04 am and is filed under ALL NEWS ITEMS, General claims issues.