Posted December 24, 200618 yr JOHN Hutton has declared war on doctors who sign too many patients off sick, with a grim threat to "name and shame" the worst offenders. The Work and Pensions Secretary has turned his fire on GPs amid an increasingly desperate government drive to reduce the enormous number of people being put on incapacity benefit (IB). Ministers have introduced a raft of proposals to slash the £12.5bn annual bill for keeping 2.7 million people off work, with schemes including cash incentives to encourage doctors to reduce the number they declare too ill to work. But an exasperated Hutton has now ordered a fresh crackdown, with doctors ordered to fall in line with stiffer requirements - or face having their record published in a national 'league table'. Medical experts have condemned the prospect of using "strong-arm" tactics against GPs, who are often put under intolerable pressure by patients asking to be signed off.
January 6, 200718 yr Good move, many (the majority I would say) of sick and disabled are chancers who are cheating the system
January 7, 200718 yr So, what... Is this yet MORE paperwork that already over-worked GPs are gonna have to fill-in....? <_< More Govt bullsh!t, more beaurocracy.... It's probably gonna end up costing more to implement this than is actually being claimed by supposed 'fraudulent claimants'.... Maybe if the Govt actually started 'naming and shaming' employers who dont give a sh!t about their employees' Health and Safety and just generally treat their staff like cattle (which is the direct cause of much of the 'problem' of so many people on Incapacity benefit anyway...), then I might actually go along with this....
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