"I secretly agree with you that if you’re too sick to work it would be embarrassing to be seen out and about in the community beyond doing essential things. But I wouldn’t admit to having this view because I know it’s unfashionable. The accepted wisdom now is that there is no problem with people off work on long term sick leave going to the spa, going to the beach, going on holidays abroad."
@Twiglets1 It's not a question of "fashion" or, as you sarcastically put it, "accepted wisdom". It's a question of medical reality. Clearly you are fortunate never to have experienced a long-term illness that prevented you from working. That doesn't make it OK to have ignorant, judgemental attitudes about people who do have that.
Can you think of any job where you have the option of working only sporadically, on days when you find yourself feeling a bit less ill, for an hour or two per day at most, lying down to rest whenever you need to during that time, and most days not working at all? If so, feel free to share your ideas on what that job would be.
I have a long-term physical illness that means that most days I'm too unwell to leave the house. I feel dizzy, sick, and my whole body is in pain. Some days I'm able to go for a short walk. Some days I'm able to get a taxi to a cafe and meet a friend for coffee or lunch. It's completely unpredictable, and my friends know that I often have to cancel. In those cases we generally catch up by phone instead.
When I do meet a friend, I tend to feel worse for days afterwards, from the exertion of getting a taxi to a cafe, sitting up and having a conversation (which takes energy, if you're as unwell as I am), and getting a taxi home.
And yet, of course, so many illnesses are invisible. Anyone who saw me in a cafe having a chat would not know that I was feeling ill, that I would have to spend the rest of the day lying down, and that I would feel worse for days afterwards. They might assume, as you apparently do: "That person is well enough to be working! They're a scrounger living off my taxes! I am so outraged! I'm a better person than they are!"
A friend of mine, dying of cancer, became too ill to work a few months before his death. During the time he was off work, he went on holiday to Tenerife with his wife and kids, met up with friends, and generally got out and about when he could. I completely understand that and do not think that those things meant he should have been at work.
Another friend of mine had to have time off work for illness (genuine, horrible illness). The HR director at work made it clear that she didn't believe my friend was too ill to work. Some while later, the HR director became ill herself and had to have time off work. When she returned, she could not meet my friend's eyes.
Don't be that person.