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    'Well-notes' to tackle sick leave

    Posted on 19/02/2008

    The government is to propose a shake-up to the way that sick notes are issued.

    According to The Times, the health secretary, Alan Johnson, wants to 'change our sick-note culture into a well-note culture'.

    The plans, expected to be revealed tomorrow during a speech to the British Heart Foundation, are reported to place more emphasis on employers tackling health problems in the workplace.

    And a proposed change to doctors' certificates would encourage GPs to make decisions to about the kinds of work that a patient could continue to perform.

    The British Medical Association (BMA) said that it welcomed measures to encourage employers to take a bigger role in promoting wellbeing.

    However, it warned against expecting that GPs alone could reduce employee absence through ill-health.

    'Confirming that a patient is unwell is very different from making a judgement on whether someone is well enough to do their job,' commented Dr Peter Holden, of the BMA's General Practitioners' Committee.

    'This may be determined by a host of other non-medical factors concerning the equipment they are using or the physical environment in which they work. GPs should not be there to police the system.'



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