The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has welcomed new pilot schemes which aim to help reform the fit note system.
DAUK has been working with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health on the future of fit notes.
Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP co-lead, attended the launch event in Birmingham, where details of the four pilot schemes were announced.
Fit notes
He said: “We agree the current system of fit notes isn’t working well for patients, GPs and employers.
“It often lacks the nuance to deal with specific work situations and reasons that people have for not being able to work their full or part of their role.
“We hope these pilots will give the opportunity to explore a different way for people to engage with periods of ill health and ways to make work more accessible and achievable.
Pilot schemes
“This recognises that GPs aren’t always best equipped to understand the options for work and we hope that active engagement between patients, GPs, employers and this new service will provide a better experience for everyone.”
The small-scale pilots will be held in Coventry and Warwickshire, Birmingham and Solihull, Lancashire and South Cumbria, and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The Department for Health said the pilots are ‘exploratory and flexible, designed to test and refine different delivery models through a test and learn approach’.
DAUK survey
DAUK’s own GP survey highlighted strong professional support for reform.
Among respondents, 69% said fit notes should no longer remain within GP remit, while 85% supported transferring responsibility to a dedicated new service. Nearly half backed a return to four-week self-certification, and 94% reported that refusing a fit note negatively affected the doctor–patient relationship.
Dr Taylor said: “It is important that no one is forced to work who cannot, but it is also important that those who can, should be encouraged and given options to work.
“This could be a great improvement and we look forward to seeing the outcomes from these four pilots.”
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