Leatherhead Matters

Health Secretary Alan Johnson wants to change Britain’s “sick note culture” into a “well note culture”.

Department of Health figures show that people who are on incapacity benefit for one year are likely to stay stay on benefit for around 8 years. Those who have been on benefit for two consecutive years or more, are more likely to die or retire than work again.

The Minister said: “”The evidence shows that far from being bad for health, work is generally good for people’s health. In fact staying in work or returning to work is often in a patient’s best interests. We want to explore what else GPs can do to change our sick note culture into a well note culture.