Exclusive:Yorkshire praised for leading way in helping people with heart issues back into work
Yorkshire has been praised by the Health Secretary for leading the way in getting people who suffer heart attacks back into work.
Working with the NHS, the Department for Work and Pensions is looking to reform fit notes, which are given by GPs and doctors to assess whether people can return to the office after a period of ill health.
Former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield’s landmark Keep Britain Working review found that the system is “not working as intended” and compounds issues.
The vast majority of fit notes do not provide any constructive alternative to time off work, the Department for Health and Social Care said, while it also takes up the time of overstretched doctors.
West Yorkshire is one of the areas taking part in a pilot scheme to help reform this.
The Mid Yorkshire Cardiac Rehabilitation Service, which serves Kirklees and Wakefield, is now providing occupational therapy for those who have suffered a heart attack or had a cardiac operation to help patients back into work when they are healthy enough.
In the first six months of the programme, 33 people have had specialist rehabilitation and 20 have returned to work.
Sarah Jessop, an occupational therapist at the Mid Yorkshire Cardiac Rehabilitation Service, explained: "Healthy Working Life funding has enabled the service to fully integrate work-focused rehabilitation into the patient pathway.
“This approach supports people to rebuild confidence, manage energy levels and return to meaningful, sustainable work.
“Good work is a healthy outcome. Supporting someone to stay in or return to work isn’t an ‘extra’ - it’s part of rehabilitation. This service brings that principle to life every day.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “For far too long, we've handed out fit notes that simply tell people they can't work, without offering them any real support to get better and get back into employment. That's not good enough.
“Supporting the 2.8m people currently out of work due to sickness back into meaningful employment is as crucial to driving economic growth as it is to improving the health of our nation.
“Without decisive action forecasts show that in five years, we could see 600,000 more economically inactive people.
“The Mid Yorkshire Cardiac Rehabilitation Service shows exactly the kind of proactive, joined-up approach we need.
“Instead of just managing illness, it is helping people rebuild their lives after a heart attack, with dedicated occupational therapy support that recognises work as part of their recovery journey.
“Each person supported back into work will see better health outcomes, stronger financial security, and renewed independence.”
This is just the latest example of Yorkshire leading the way when it comes to tackling the economic inactivity crisis which is gripping Britain.
The Pathways to Work commission in Barnsley, chaired by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, was a trailblazer for the Government’s wider policy on helping people into jobs.
This called on bringing together work, health and skills support in a radical new approach to help people overcome barriers to employment.
Now South Yorkshire is partnering with companies such as British Airways, Google and Sainsbury’s, to build up more evidence on this over the next three years.