Fit for Work UK call to action to prevent chronic illness
Fit for Work UK have issued a call to action this week (21st July 2014) to put the growing ill-health of UK workforce on the agenda. They sent the challenge with a five point plan to politicians across all main political parties with a warning that by 2030 almost half of UK workers will have a chronic health condition affecting their ability to work.
Fit for Work UK is a coalition of healthcare professionals, policymakers, employers and patient groups and it argues that the costs of ill-health will far exceed the projected £100 billion over the next twenty years. An ageing workforce and later retirement age are forecast to increase ill-health among the workforce causing long term absence, presenteeism and disability.
The five point plan put forward by Fit for Work UK call to action consists of the following steps:
1. A comprehensive cross-government strategy and programme for health and work
Workplace health falls under the responsibility of a number of government departments. But the absence of a clear and unified approach means it is the responsibility of everyone and no-one.
2. Clear national leadership with the appointment of a National Clinical Director for Health & Work
A national and independent leadership role was put in place in 2006 but, just at the time when a unified approach is more important than ever, this post has been lost.
3. Accessible information for people with long-term conditions to help them stay in work
Evidence is growing that if people with long-term conditions are able to have early conversations about work and health they are more likely to return to work sooner and stay in work longer.
4. Measures that capture health and return to work in NHS frameworks, and incentivise clinicians to regard return to work as a clinical outcome of care
Work must be recognised as a health outcome for patients, and metrics included in NHS frameworks and strategies that will incentivise and support healthcare professionals to consider work in consultations and open up early conversations with patients about their needs.
5. Effective incentives to reward healthcare providers who support people with long-term conditions to return to work
Incentives, such as commissioning for quality and innovation (CQUIN) payments and the Quality and Outcomes Framework, have been shown to encourage providers to focus on particular areas of need and shape clinical practice to improve patient outcomes.
Fit For Work UK’s President, Professor Stephen Bevan, said: “The UK requires urgent action now to prevent this trend developing into a crisis of public health and impaired labour productivity.”
Fit for Work Coalition member Prof Karen Middleton, CEO of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, commented: “Government policy focuses on reducing welfare costs, but there are millions of people in work whose ill-health threatens their job security and productivity. Simple, early and joined-up action, such as commissioning self-referral physiotherapy services, to help workers to manage conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders – the cause of 35m lost working days each year – can save money and improve the quality of working lives for millions.”