BRITS may be able to sign themselves off work using an app under plans to free up doctors’ time.
Ministers want to test an online system that will mean people with minor infections and injuries can get a few days off without seeing a GP, according to reports.
The model will mean a website or app would become the first port of call for a sick note, with an algorithm deciding whether their symptoms merit time off work.
A Government source told The Times the idea was being tested as one of many to “find ways of making triage more efficient in a way that protects GP time”.
Another said: “If I’ve got flu and just need seven days off work and then I’m back, do I really need to see a doctor for that?”
The move comes as part of Rishi Sunak’s wider plans to crack down on Britain’s so-called “sick note culture”.
The Prime Minister last week said it was his “moral mission” to overhaul the benefits system and get more people back to work.
Plans involve stripping GPs of their power to issue fit notes, which instead become the responsibility of “specialist work and health professionals”.
Figures show some 2.8million Brits are currently signed off as long-term sick and GPs issued 11million fit notes last year — 94 per cent rating the recipient “not fit for work”.
The new system will include a “triage service that supports people seeking a fit note into a pathway that best suits their individual health and employment needs”, according to ministers.
The online model would involve people entering their symptoms into the system, before being sent to a work and health service if they need treatment.
People with common infections like cold and flu or who may only need a week off could be given automatic sick notes based on their symptoms, ministers think.
They admit the system would need to be limited to one-off illnesses and tested rigorously to prevent people from misusing it.
The PM said any new model would aim to assess people better and ensure they get support to help them remain at work if possible.
Kamila Hawthorne, the chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, said: “It’s vital that if responsibility for issuing fit notes is diverted elsewhere, then this remains the priority for anyone involved in assessing someone’s ability to work — and that they are trained accordingly, with safeguards in place to ensure appropriate decisions are being made.
“The same goes for the programming of algorithms.”
What are the changes to sick notes and benefits being planned?
CHANGES TO WORK COACH RULES: Anyone who doesn’t comply with the conditions set by the work coach, like accepting an available job, will, after a year, have their claim closed and their benefits removed entirely.
Work coaches will give free help and support to those claiming benefits and Universal Credit.
SPEED UP MANAGED MIGRATION: If eligible to move from a legacy benefit to Universal Credit, once you get a letter you will have three months to move or may lose your current benefits.
FIND EXTRA WORK: Anyone working less than half a full-time work week will have to try to find extra work in return for benefits.
TIGHTER WORK CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT: The Department for Work and Pensions uses the Work Capability Assessment to decide if welfare claimants are entitled to sickness benefits.
Mr Sunak wants to tighten this to get more people with less severe conditions back in work.
CHANGES TO “FIT NOTE” SYSTEM: The PM wants to shift signing off Brits with “Fit Notes” away from GPs and leave it to a specialist team to make the decisions.
CHANGES TO PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENTS: Greater medical evidence could be required to substantiate a claim for these payments, and some people with mental health conditions may be offered talking therapies or respite care, rather than cash transfers.