Meet the doctor who spends 'half an hour a day' writing sicknotes for workshy Brits: GP reveals he's noticed 'significant rise' in number of people being signed off work

A doctor is spending 30 minutes every day signing people off sick with a mental health illness, but the GP says being back at work could actually be better for them. 

Dr John Harvard revealed there had been a 'significant rise' in the number of people being signed off work, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. 

But he says it may not be a 'wise plan' for those feeling anxious or depressed to be staying at home as they 'need the support of home, family, friends, and also those at work'. 

It comes as the number of people of working age in Britain that are economically inactive hit 9.4million, meaning they are neither employed nor looking for work.

Meanwhile, at the end of last year, 4,000 applications for sickness benefits were being made every single day.

Dr Harvard, whose Saxmundham Health Centre surgery is based in Suffolk, estimated GPs across the country probably spend at least 'half an hour each day' issuing 'repeat fit notes' to those who have been off work for a while.

He said: 'There certainly has been a significant rise in the number of patients being off work due to mental health problems.

'This seems to have been exacerbated since Covid.'

His surgery often contacts patients to find out how they are recovering in an effort to get them back to work. 

This is because the doctors believe being it can be better for their recovery.

Dr Harvard added: 'When patients are anxious or depressed, there are a number of ways we can help. But being off work is not necessarily a wise plan.

'Interaction and support from colleagues can be helpful, which means that signing some people off work may not be in their best interests.' 

He was speaking after Rishi Sunak announced plans to strip GPs of their power to sign people off work, as part of a crackdown on what he calls the UK's 'sick note culture'.

The Prime Minister claims benefits have become 'a lifestyle choice' for some people, causing 'spirally' welfare costs.

He announced on Friday that the government will trial getting 'work and health professionals' to issue 'fit notes' rather than GPs.

Mr Sunak hopes that this will free up overworked GPs and enable specialists to make a more detailed assessment of a person's ability to work.

He is implementing the plans amid concerns about the increase in long-term sickness since the pandemic, which has primarily been driven by mental health problems.

The Tory leader added that he would 'never dismiss or downplay the illnesses people have' but also argued that there is a need to be 'more honest about the risk of over-medicalising the everyday challenges and worries of life'.

Disability campaigners have reacted with anger to the plans, with charity Scope branding them a 'full-on assault on disabled people'.

Dr Havard said: 'If the Government has a plan for the issue of repeat certificates, then I would welcome the idea.

'Currently though, I have no knowledge of how it would work.'

He added: 'As a general rule, I feel patients with anxiety and depression need the support of home, family, friends, and also those at work.

'We should never underestimate the strength of the wider community to provide support.'

The overall welfare bill for the British taxpayer currently stands at £297 billion and it is projected to climb to £360 billion over the next five years — the equivalent of 11 per cent of Britain's entire economic output. 

Over the same period, spending on sickness benefits is expected to rise from £66billion to more than £90billion.

Nearly 3million people of working age are currently on long-term sick leave - the highest figure ever, it was revealed on April 17.

One recent survey by this paper showed that in the 16 to 24 age group, 280,000 people are in receipt of unemployment benefits — twice as many as a decade ago, and 50,000 more than before Covid struck.

And it appears that the younger generation are more likely to be afflicted by negativity about their mental health.

Research by the Resolution Foundation revealed that the number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are economically inactive due to mental health has more than doubled in the past decade from 93,000 to 190,000.