Government plans to get long term sick back to work.

[Miley1967]

Does anyone have any information about how the Government are planning to get long term sick/ disabled back to work? I have read there is a paper being published/ announced this week. In my local area ( East Midlands) I have seen jobs advertised this week ( multiple jobs) for health and work coaches but employed through the NHS and based in Gp surgeries, so it does seem as though they are already taking steps to implement this.
Just a bit worried for some of my clients( I work in benefits advice work ) as to whether this is going to be pushed on them or if it's a scheme they will choose to be part of and just wondering what it is going to entail, will these coaches be working with employers who are genuinely going to be able to support this group of people into work?

There are lots of reasons for that figure.

Well the ones that the health providers are responsible for, can be fixed by them. I know of one weird hack that could save a couple of percent.

That leaves the 3% for the really unavoidable.

People make the mistake of assuming "free" is the same as "worth fuck all". Which means they could be in for a shock if the NHS - along with a lot of other government services - suddenly change their funding model.

Yes, I agree something needs to be done about the so not attends. That figure is too high.

@ForRealTurtle I hear you. I’ve not worked for the last 18 months due to ill health and some personal stuff but I’m now ready. I’m 62, intelligent, fit and want a job that’s going to see me through for the next few years. Despite my experience I’m still not getting interviews for jobs I could easily do. Not sure what to do but I guess I’m not the only one 🙄

@SerendipityJane I have missed hospital appointments for some of the reasons I outline. Being charged would have made zero difference to my attendance.

Incidentally, it was day case surgery and the patient needed to be delivered and collected. It was to correct atrial flutter, which is not life-threatening.

Where did I say mobile ?

And my point is, if you can't make an appointment, then why didn't you phone ? DNAs don't include appointments where the patient has informed the provider.

For all it's faults, the NHS doesn't ask for cash upfront. That is a privilege. And abused privileges slowly get eroded to nothing. If the public can't be trusted with a free at the point of delivery health service, then there are plenty of other ways to deliver it. Just ask any passing American.

@SerendipityJane I did phone. At the next appointment they said they had no record of my phone call and I was down as a DNA.

I'm suggesting 3%. The 7% difference would translate into billions for the health

Sadly it happens. It's why I record all my calls (as I suspect do they).

Anyway hard cases make bad law. It's undeniable that some of the DNAs could be dealt with. And that's "free" money.

With NHS joined up communication + the state of the post, some of these will have attempted to cancel for a good reason (in hospital elsewhere, got a vomiting bug, dead) but been unable to get through to cancel as the cancellation line is only manned 10-3 but the appointment is at 8.

Appointments sent by letter don't always arrive until after the appointment, sometimes because of the post, or sometimes because it was sent 2nd class on Friday for an appointment on Tuesday...

Missed a planned antenatal appointment as I was in hospital giving birth.

Had a totally useless smear appointment as it was booked for 7pm but my period started at 4.30 pm and drs lines were closed from 4pm - was first post baby period and unpredictable. I attended purely to avoid being accused of a no show.

I suspect that the deliberate no show figure is more like 2% with the rest being related to poor communication, transport fails (pre booked hospital transport, pre booked taxi) or unavoidable things happening last minute

@Randomsabreur Your excuses are charitable, and some of them are plausible, but the general public is not without blame. They treat the NHS in a cavalier manner, and the NHS is inclined to profligacy. And we are all poorer for those reasons.

It is better that someone does a minimum wage role than sits on their arse all day. Benefits need to be reduced to a proportion of minimum wage so that people are incentivised. It should not be possible to live on benefits for more than a short period of time it is a safety net not a fluffy cushion.

@Beekeepingmum If benefits are a proportion of wages, childfree people might see an actual rise in their benefits? Its really only benefits for children and disability benefits that take you above abject poverty.

That's the real problem isn't it you can't buy children out of poverty though their parents. Not sure the country is ready for transferring the kids so we need to do what we can to disincentivize those in poverty having children. The poverty cycle just continues.

Those are the kind of ideas people had in the past. Take children away from the undeserving poor. Except the outcomes for those children were far worse. Loving parents are far better for children that the state as a parent.

This is the problem- attitudes like yours! Genuinely unwell. More likely they'd rather laze around than do a hard days graft,.

I don't know but I feel really sorry for the generation affected by the lock downs.

I think they need to go back to basics with work ready programs to build confidence.

You're talking about people with disabilities, some of the most vulnerable in society. They have been judged medically unfit to work and you want to take away their ability to feed themselves and a roof over their heads.

It's far too easy to claim to be "too anxious" to work since Covid. And if you call it out, you're deemed as the spawn of Satan as we all need to "be kind".

No I think very few people are not capable of doing any work whatsoever. Most people can contribute something - it may not be their dream job or what did in the past but it would be better than nothing. There is no way that 10% of the working age population are not able to do anything at all. On the whole I think work is a good thing for people it has positive mental health benefits. I'm not suggesting some who has lost a leg gets a job on a building site but there would be many suitable jobs - especially now with the prevalence of work from home.

I would really and sincerely hope nobody is saying they would want this to be the case, I think it is more the fact that those who CAN work, should be working. Taking someone from further up the thread as an example who said they have a friend on long term sick who can’t do the job they used to do because of a foot injury, that person can do any number of other jobs, just not the one they previously did so with upskilling, training etc they could then start a different job.

There are of course people who are genuinely unable to work who indeed will never be able to work and nothing should change for those people, I don’t think there is any mention that anything would change for those people, it’s just about getting those who CAN work into a suitable job.

Appointments sent by letter don't always arrive until after the appointment

I get mine via a text alert and letter in my NHS (or local Trust - which already suggests another savings avenue).

Exactly, people who can read and write- these are skills that can be utilised in the working world especially with wfh options. Working doesn't need to be physical labour.

I think a significant proportion of people on long term sick get stuck on what they can't do rather than channel their energy into what they can do.

You're just making stuff up. You've got no idea of what people on disability benefits can do.

We don't have a functioning health service where people can get timely treatment. Some are off work because they need operations or their condition spiralled because they didn't get appropriate care.

In order for people to go back to work they will need support. As long as the government are going to put that support in place and employers make adjustments and are flexible, I'm sure some will be able to work.

It will have to involve having treatment they need or it's not going to work.