Tony Baldrey (Conservative MP for Banbury) tabled a written question that asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment had been made of the effectiveness of fit notes in assisting people to make a phased return to work.
In his answer on 13 December 2011, Employment Minister Chris Grayling replied:
The Department has a programme of work to evaluate the statement of fitness for work or fit notes. Independent research carried out for the Department published earlier in the year found that 70% of GPs agreed that the fit note had helped their patients make a phased return to work.
A separate piece of research involving in-depth interviews with 45 GPs from different locations and practice sizes conducted for the Department found many GPs believe that patients with conditions that are compatible with phased returns can return to work sooner than they could have done under the previous certification system. Conditions that they found to be highly compatible with phased returns included myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME (often referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome), common mental health conditions and musculoskeletal problems. Phased return, for example two or three days a week, can be used to build patient confidence and eventually enable a full return leading to positive health outcomes for these patients through having the opportunity to work. Some GPs did note, however, that they perceived that smaller companies may be limited in the number of alternative roles that they can offer employees during the course of a phased return.
The Department will continue to examine the effectiveness of fit notes in assisting people to make a phased return to work through:
• in-depth interviews with employers and employees (to be published early next year);
• a representative survey of employees (to be published at the end of next year); and
• a comparative study of fit and sick notes (to be published in 2013).
Chris Grayling appears to inhabit a land of Teletubbies, a land where everything is brightly coloured, though his land is, in truth, much more sinister, and possibly hallucinated. You see, there are no ill people. In his land, he – and his hench(wo)men – can pretend there is no such thing as post-neuroimmune exhaustion; no such thing as mitochondrial dysfunction, no such thing as immune systems being way out of kilter; no such thing as (often) wildly fluctuating symptoms; in fact, no such thing as ME! He can pretend that forcing moderate/severe PWME to sustain *any* kind of tasks will not put them at serious risk of becoming bedridden again, very soon. He can pretend, in fact, that all physical and cognitive impairment is a matter of low confidence! In fact, Grayling is so out of touch with the reality of chronic illness – absolutely excelling in *not* understanding ME, he clearly prefers the ‘chronic fatigue’ route – I’d say that the Teletubbies make a lot more sense, in their childlike, monosyllabic way.
Very true, someone needs to correct him, how many of us, like myself have become more disabled working whilst ill?. Anyone with ME & documented history & a level of ME from moderate to severe i.e bedbound through the day, should for health reasons be left alone, the stress of constant DWP harrasment will only detrimentaly exacerbate your health.
The ‘Work is good’ mantra ignores the reality on the ground for the many disabled, he must be challenged with education, maybe Lord Freud should lend him The International Consensus Criteria for ME, which Professor Hooper kindly sent him.
many thanks nmj you brought a giggle to my day
Ah, sorry – I meant post-exertional neuroimmune exhaustion.