The UK’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is set to address the country’s “sick note culture” in a speech on welfare reform. Sunak is considering moving the responsibility of assessing an individual’s fitness for work from general practitioners to “specialist work and health professionals” in England. As of February 2024, a record 2.8 million people are out of work, as stated by the Office for National Statistics. However, in response, the Labour Party has accused the government of lacking original ideas and failing to provide a healthy nation and economy.
In his speech, the Prime Minister will disclose his intentions to transform the benefits system. He will shift the conversation’s focus from what people cannot do to what they can potentially do. According to Sunak, he hopes to promote a “sick note culture” shift so that the default is to consider what work people can do instead of what they cannot. Additionally, he will call out the “over-medicalisation of everyday challenges and worries of life.”
On Friday, a call for evidence will be published requesting the input of healthcare professionals, employers, and people with lived experiences on how the present system operates and how it can be improved. The government has declared that a large number of working-aged individuals have become inactive due to long-term sickness brought about mainly by mental health issues after the pandemic. NHS data revealed that 11 million fit notes were issued last year, with 94% stating that the individual was unfit to work.
The speech comes on the back of criticisms faced by Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride, over his comments about “the normal ups and downs of human life” being considered as medical conditions. This resulted in people being held back from working. In response, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists called Stride’s comments “disappointing,” while the Centre for Mental Health charity stated that it belittled people’s struggles
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
