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Leaders of more than 30 healthcare professional bodies came together today to sign a ground-breaking agreement to advise patients of the important role work plays in health. The consensus statement, developed in partnership with the National Director for Health and Work, Dame Carol Black, comes ahead of her radical review of the health of the working age population, which is due out later this month. Evidence shows staying in or returning to work is usually good for health and recovery and in signing the consensus the medical profession acknowledged this and agreed to act upon it. They pledged to do all they could to help people enter, stay in or return to work, where appropriate, because it is often in the patients’ best interests. The consensus was signed at the Royal College of General Practitioners in London as senior representatives of the bodies met with Dame Carol and Secretaries of State James Purnell and Alan Johnson. At a meeting today the Work and Pensions Secretary set out Government’s commitment to supporting healthcare professionals to help their patients. He announced plans to extend a pilot education programme carried out in partnership with the RCGP, which has already been successful in providing GPs with training and practical help. This is part of a wider programme of training and support. Mr Purnell said: "Work is good for your health. For too long it has been automatically assumed that a return to work would be bad for your health. Today’s ground breaking agreement turns this old fashioned notion on its head. The health profession are recognising the role that work can play in getting people fit and healthy and it will create a crucial culture change for the welfare state.” "But I want to make sure that we give GPs the support they need to help their patients see that work can be part of the solution, not part of the problem, and that’s why we’ll be rolling out a new national training programme developed with their needs in mind.” Professor Steve Field, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), said: “The RCGP warmly welcomes this consensus statement together with the work that Dame Carol is doing as part of her review. "GPs take their responsibility in respect of sick certification very seriously but can be placed in a difficult position. Some patients who are disabled or on long term sick leave would like to return to work but there can be barriers, such as poor access to services such as physiotherapy, and there must be a change in the attitude of employers and society more generally. The RCGP is taking determined action to support GPs through a dedicated national education programme developed in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, including a series of workshops aimed at increasing GPs’ knowledge and skills in dealing with clinical issues relating to work and health. We are delighted that this programme is now being extended further.”
"We know that staying in or returning to work is generally good for patient’s health whereas unemployment is progressively damaging, leading to
more sickness, mental illness, disability, increased use of medication, higher hospital admission rates and shorter life expectancy. Suicide rates
are 35 times higher among the long-term unemployed than among those in There is strong evidence that the impact of returning to work – even after long periods of unemployment – has the capacity to improve health, to the same extent that being out of work can damage health. It is now for the Government to work with healthcare professionals to focus on how to prevent people from sliding out of work onto Incapacity Benefit as well as getting those who have been isolated from the world of work back into employment.”
"This marks an important development in the way that all healthcare professionals deal with keeping people in work or getting them back to work as part of their treatment. This unified approach can only help patients, but employers need to play their part too. The consensus proves there is appetite for change and I am determined to capitalise on this when I make my recommendations later this month,” she said. A full list of those who signed the consensus is available on the Health, Work and Wellbeing website www.workingforhealth.gov.uk Source: GNN
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Health Secretary Mr Johnson said the consensus was an important step towards recognising the role that work can have in keeping the nation healthy:
Dame Carol said the consensus demonstrated she had the support of GPs and other key healthcare professionals.