A young NHS worker with Crohn’s disease has said she is “terrified” by the planned overhaul of the sick note system, which she fears will make it hard for disabled people to work.
Last week, it was announced the role of GPs in signing people off sick would be reduced or removed in several parts of England under the pilot scheme designed to tackle the growing number of people out of work due to poor health.
Lauren Fox, 29, a trainee clinical psychologist in NHS mental health services in the North East, said the changes risk adding to the “mind-boggling number of hoops” people with chronic illnesses already have to jump through.
Lauren has worked in the NHS for 12 years, but has been hospitalised with Crohn’s flare-ups around 15 times in the past three years. She suffered severe symptoms and pain for years before she was diagnosed.
Her complaints were dismissed, she said, until her appendix burst and doctors diagnosed her with Crohn’s.
