More Department for Work and Pension (DWP) benefit claimants will now be referred to occupational health schemes in a bid to reduce the number of GPs that sign off people from work.
The DWP chiefs have explained how a major crackdown on benefits claimants to get them back into work will happen.
Under the plan, employers, job centres, social workers and charities, as well as doctors, will be able to refer people for assessment and then further help such as medical treatment, training or life coaching.
The aim is to try to tackle long-term sickness in the benefits system.
They will launch the first steps of the Government’s WorkWell Scheme over the year, which are designed to “swoop in” on the sick and focus their treatment on staying in work.
Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, and Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, said the scheme was not a “one size fits all” but hoped it would work alongside other services to help people stay in work.
Shey told the Times: “We know the longer someone spends out of work, the harder it becomes for them to find a job. We also know that one in five of those claiming the highest level of health benefits want to work and feel they could do so with the right support.”
“Where someone could fall out of work and on to long-term sickness benefits, WorkWell is designed to swoop in and provide the support that people need to stay in work, or return as soon as possible.”
The reforms aim to make it easier for doctors to refer people to occupational health schemes and will be tested to reduce the number that GPs sign off people from work.
In response to the DWP Workwell plan, shadow employment minister, Alison McGovern, told the Times the scheme was “all too little and it’s far too late”.
A DWP spokesperson said: “Our drive to help thousands into employment and grow the economy is working – with four million more people in work and inactivity down by over 300,000 since the pandemic peak.
“While this includes our new Back to Work plan which will help up to 1.1 million people with long-term health conditions, disabilities, or who are long-term unemployed to start, stay and succeed in work, with WorkWell playing a pivotal part in our mission to get Britain working.”
A record 2.6 million people are off work because of long-term sickness, adding billions of pounds to the welfare bill.
There are now 2.2 million people claiming universal credit with no work requirements, representing 36 percent of total claimants, up from 24 per cent four years ago.
To reverse these trends, 15 areas will be selected in the new year to test a service known as WorkWell, which Stride and Victoria Atkins, the health secretary say will “provide integrated health and job support tailored to individual needs”.
They can also be offered community activities such as singing, cooking or gardening clubs through NHS “social prescribing” initiatives. About 59,000 people will be involved in pilots in 2024, with plans to take the scheme national.
