The National Education Programme aims to raise GPs' awareness of the positive links between health and work and ensure that they are equipped to provide support and advice to patients about fitness for work issues.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is currently running workshops throughout Great Britain, focussed on the recent evidence about work and health and providing skills and strategies for managing difficult consultations. The workshop programme is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The workshops aim to
- increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of GPs to deal with clinical issues relating to work and health
- ensure GPs are aware of their responsibilities on work and health
- signpost additional support services to help GPs and their teams provide the best possible patient care.
RCGP Chairman Steve Field said
"This is a major boost for the College and for GPs. Tackling health inequalities is a big priority for us and helping people to remain in or return to employment is clearly one of the best ways of improving the mental, physical and economic well-being for our patients."
"However, helping patients return to work can put GPs in a difficult and stressful situation and many GPs worry about consultations on this issue. The National Education Programme will remove many of the anxieties and concerns by giving GPs increased confidence to approach and deal with difficult situations and to make the best decisions for patients in the long term."
Workshops are chaired by a local GP and delivered by a RCGP-trained GP and specialist Occupational Health Physician. The workshops will continue until March 2011, and to date over 1,400 GPs have attended one.
To find the closest workshop to you, please visit the RCGP website: www.rcgp.org.uk/healthandwork.
GPs and other primary healthcare professionals can also access information, news, training and decision aids to support the management of health and work at www.healthyworkinguk.co.uk.