GPs to pilot not issuing fit notes in ‘radical overhaul’

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By Erin Dean

GPs will no longer have to issue fit notes in a trial that will be part of a radical overhaul of the “broken” system for unwell workers, the government has announced.

Four pilots in England will see patients referred to support services to help them back to work.

Those services will vary in approach and be made up of non-clinical team members, such as social prescribers and health coaches, with some also including clinical staff.

Some areas will test sending patients to the service with an initial fit note from a GP, while in the others GPs will refer without one, the Department of Work and Pensions announced.

The integrated care boards taking part are all in the WorkWell programme, an early-intervention, health-led service, which aims to ensure people are not “written off” sick.

'Tick-box exercise'

Government officials said the trial would seek to end the “tick-box exercise” of issuing fit notes, and “replace it with personalised ‘stay in work’ and ‘return to work’ plans for workers who fall ill”.