Public Servant Lifestyle

The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) first ever report on healthcare stresses that employers are "an important, and unrecognised, customer of the health service."

Sickness absence, says the CBI, costs UK employers £11bn a year, but the total rises to £23bn, when the cost to government of statutory sick pay, and welfare payments to the long-term sick, are added.

Employers can play a part, says the report, by ensuring they: "...should not rely on GPs to manage absence for them. Due to caseload pressures, and lack of occupational health expertise, GPs cannot be expected to focus on returning people to work quickly.

"They may sign patients off for longer than turns out to be necessary, and will not know how work could be varied, to hasten a return. There is a need for more occupational health experts," says the CBI.

Developments within the NHS, outlined in the CBI report, include:

- "Better and more collaborative use of IT, especially in managing patient records.

- "Improved management of human resources. Employees are a key NHS resource.

- More flexible working arrangements, better attention to occupational health, and enhanced career development should be used to retain and develop quality staff."

Rid GP's of Sicknote Overload

The government is moving to slash the rising tide of sicknotes requested by employers. A campaign to save 2.4 million unnecessary GP appointments plus an additional 37,000 hours of GP time each year, has been launched by health minister John Hutton and Cabinet Office minister Lord Macdonald.

A Cabinet Office report identified sickness certification as an unnecessary burden on GPs. Although sick pay regulations do not require employees to obtain sick notes from GPs until after seven days off work, many employers nevertheless demand this. In most of these short-term cases, GPs' time is wasted by having to fill out sick notes, rather than actually treating patients. The campaign encourages private and public sector employers to take greater responsibility for managing sickness absences in this initial period, rather than just demanding sick notes from GPs.

The campaign, which promotes best practice in dealing with sickness absence among employees, is run by the Doctor Patient Partnership, and is supported by a wide range of employer, employee and healthcare representative bodies.

Unnecessary Bureaucracy

Emphasising the importance of freeing front-line workers of unnecessary bureaucracy, John Hutton said: "GPs are busy people. Carrying out unnecessary consultations takes their valuable time and expertise away from the patients who really need it. The added workload leads to longer waits for appointments and more bureaucracy."

Lord Macdonald also stressed the importance of tackling red tape to improve public service delivery. He said: "This campaign is one of 36 measures identified in the 'Reducing GP Paperwork' report. It is another welcome step towards achieving the report's projected saving of 7.2 million appointments and 750,000 hours each year for GPs. These savings will allow GPs to spend less time on bureaucracy and red tape, and more on patient care."

Dr Simon Fradd, Chairman of the Doctor Patient Partnership, said: "Using GP services to manage short-term sickness absence is wasteful of scarce NHS resources, is inefficient for employers and may cost employees in time and money. Employers need information and advice about effective ways to manage their sickness absence and so relieve pressure on GP services. GPs want to provide their patients with a good service but it is frustrating for them when employees are expected to get sick notes for minor ailments."

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