Healthcare bodies sign work pledge

News | HSW
06.03.2008

The leaders of more than 30 bodies representing healthcare professionals have signed a statement of consensus acknowledging the health benefits of staying in or returning to work.

The consensus statement was developed in partnership with Dame Carol Black, the national director for health and work, who is due to publish a review of the health of the working-age population later this month.

The bodies signing up to the agreement pledged to do all they can to help people enter, stay in or return to work, where appropriate, because it is often in the patients' best interests.

The consensus was signed on 5 March at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in London.

Work and pensions secretary James Purnell said: "For too long it has been automatically assumed that a return to work would be bad for your health. Today's ground breaking agreement turns this old fashioned notion on its head."

He said a pilot training programme for GPs on dealing with issues relating to work and health would be extended.

Professor Steve Field, chair of the RCGP, said: "GPs take their responsibility in respect of sick certification very seriously but can be placed in a difficult position.

"Some patients who are disabled or on long-term sick leave would like to return to work but there can be barriers, such as poor access to services such as physiotherapy, and there must be a change in the attitude of employers and society more generally."