Data collated by NHS England showed the extent of absence forms permitted in Oldham, between January 2020 and December 2023.
Last year, 65,668 such notes were given to patients at the borough’s 34 medical centers, an increase of 58% compared to 2020.
Three months into 2020, the pandemic forced the country into lockdown. The figures could therefore be distorted, with only 41,387 tickets issued.
The number of signed forms continues to increase from year to year, with 50,476 in 2021, 60,801 in 2022 and of course 65,668 in 2023.
It comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced plans to crack down on so-called “sick note culture” as part of his government’s welfare reforms earlier this month.
He said: “We don’t just need to change sick notes, we need to change the culture of sick notes so that the default becomes work you can do – not what you can’t .
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers his speech in central London on welfare reform (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)
“Building on the pilots we have already launched, we will design a new system to give people quick and easy access to specialist work and health support to help them return to work as soon as possible. first conversation on a good note.
“We will also trial shifting responsibility for assessment from GPs and placing it in the hands of specialists and healthcare professionals who have the dedicated time to provide an objective assessment of a person’s ability to work – and the personalized support they need to do so. .”
The Prime Minister’s plans and statement have been condemned – with charity Scope saying the move looks like “an all-out attack on disabled people” which could leave some “destitute”.
Mr Sunak said there would be consultation on proposed changes for a “more objective and rigorous approach” to the benefits system.
He suggested that more medical evidence may be needed to justify a claim for personal independence payment (PIP), and that some people with mental health problems could be offered talking therapies or respite care rather than cash transfers.
Meanwhile, the British Medical Association criticized the Prime Minister for his “hostile rhetoric on sick note culture”.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of GPC England, the BMA’s GP committee, said: “With a waiting list of 7.5 million people – not including mental health problems – delays in diagnosis and the resulting pressures on GP practices, patients cannot get treatment. they must be able to return to work.
“So rather than launching a hostile narrative about ‘sick culture’, perhaps the Prime Minister should focus on removing what prevents patients from receiving the physical and mental care they need, thereby prevents them from returning to work.
A trend over the last four years in Oldham shows that there is an increase in forms of absence in March and again in October and November before decreasing in December – when winter officially begins.
Although as many as 218,332 sick notes were issued, a peak was seen in January 2021 with 8,368 issued – one of several months the country was in lockdown.
The fitness for work declaration (the Med3 form or “fit note”) was introduced in April 2010 in England, Wales and Scotland.
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