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People on Department for Work and Pensions benefits who are anxious or depressed face a big change. Therapists will tell anxious and depressed benefits claimants that work is good for their mental health in a fresh attempt to end sick note culture. The Telegraph reports GPs are being told to prescribe having a job as a form of treatment. Labour Party Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the change reflected a shift in attitude to treating employment as being “just as vital” to health as diet and exercise. One Labour MP insisted: “Cuts to welfare are quite simply not acceptable given the wholly unjust way inequality is structured in Britain, with so many people living in poverty.” READ MORE Thousands of Blue Badge holders issued update over free bus travel The guidance to medics states: “We need to ensure people have access to more holistic support, when and where it is needed, to reduce health disparities and avoid the negative health impacts associated with being unemployed. “This not only benefits individuals, their families and communities, but also supports economic growth, which can be reinvested into public services.” Mr Streeting told The Telegraph: “Staying in a job you love or finding work that gives you purpose is just as vital to your health as eating well and staying active. “Millions of people are trapped in a system that writes them off instead of supporting them – this Government is shifting the narrative from ‘you can’t’ to ‘how can we help you?’ “Through this new guidance, we are helping front-line staff get patients the personalised support they need as early as possible, because preventing illness and keeping people in work is central to building an NHS fit for the future, and strengthening our economy. “Everyone we can help stay in work or return to work isn’t just transforming their own life – they’re contributing to our communities, and building the healthier, more prosperous nation we all want to see.”
