Helping the sick not just about cost
Formal moves by the Social Security Department to reduce the island's £14m. long-term sickness benefit bill is a welcome development, albeit sadly overdue.
Formal moves by the Social Security Department to reduce the island's £14m. long-term sickness benefit bill is a welcome development, albeit sadly overdue.
Yet this is far from a pure cost issue.
Although the money side is important – at an average of £15,500 each for the 900 currently claiming the benefit, every one individual returning to work is a big saving – this is much more a matter of dealing with islanders humanely.
The most common cause of not working for extended periods for non-manual workers is stress, followed by acute medical conditions and then mental health problems. For manual staff, after back pain and injury, it is also stress and mental health issues.
And of course the most significant area where Guernsey's health system lets people down is in treating those with mental health issues. Not only is there too little help available, the system demands that individuals become critical before they qualify for what little assistance is there.
It is a disgrace and it is to Health and Social Services' credit that it acknowledges that and is working towards improving things.
The Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Service initiative underpinning the attack on long-term sickness levels pumps a little more than £250,000 (less than getting just 20 people off long term benefit) into the system and involves GPs at the outset.
Too little has been spent on, or diverted to, this area over the years and that's why a forgotten 900 people – double the unemployment total – have been left languishing and the island has run up an annual bill of £14m. as a result.
The grim fact is that the longer someone is off work, the less likely they are to return and the more likely they are to experience poverty and social exclusion.
Someone who has been off sick for six months or more has an 80% chance of being off work for five years, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
And that's why Guernsey has a duty to get people back to work as quickly as possible – not just to save money but to ensure islanders are getting the help they deserve.
