Why GPs must not lose their role in supporting people back to work
Absence from work has a significant cost to individuals and societies. In 2020, 118.6 million working days were lost because of sickness or injury in the UK — this is the lowest level of sickness absence in a decade as the influence of national restrictions and home-working have impacted on this figure. The cost of sickness absence in the UK in 2018/2019 was an estimated £16.2 billion with musculoskeletal pain and mental health problems accounting for most of this absence, but since April 2020 14% of sickness absence was as a result of COVID-19. In the UK there is limited access to occupational health services for the majority of employees, with just 13% of employers providing access to occupational health services. Most employers providing occupational health services are large organisations, rather than small and medium enterprises who employ an estimated 15.7 million people. For those employees without access to occupational health, GPs play …