LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has today announced that Health Management Limited, a MAXIMUS Company, has been successful in its bid to operate the new Health and Work Service (HWS).
Sickness absence from work costs employers £9bn and employees £4bn each year. DWP analysis shows there are up to one million absences from work of more than four weeks. The Health and Work Service will offer occupational health assessments and return to work plans for people who reach, or are expected to reach, the four-week sickness absence point.
Employees who qualify will normally be referred to the service by their GP. Employers will also be able to refer after four weeks’ sickness absence if a GP has not done so by then. An initial telephone consultation with an appropriate clinician will identify the problems preventing an individual returning to work and then propose a return to work plan. This plan can be shared with the GP and employer but only with the individual’s consent.
William Smith, Managing Director, Health Management, said:
“Health Management is the UK’s leading occupational health provider. Our clinical expertise in developing return to work plans for employees makes us ideally placed to extend this to the wider working population. We are delighted to be able to support the DWP in helping people who are on sick leave to return to work.
“HWS will significantly extend access to health and work advice among the general working population. This will provide crucial support for individuals, ease pressure on GP surgeries and help employers maintain a healthier workforce.”
The service will “go live” on a phased basis, launching in late 2014 and then nationally by the end of May 2015. A telephone advice line and website will also be operational by late 2014.
Alasdair Emslie, Chief Medical Officer, Health Management, said:
“Our goal is to develop a plan to tackle all the causes of a person’s sickness absence and help people get back to work quickly.
“The Health and Work Service will help employees to manage their conditions more effectively. Our clinicians will be able to devote a greater amount of time than GPs are currently able to address all the issues affecting a return to work, both health and non-health related. The service is convenient and fast, with the first intervention taking place within two working days of referral.”
About Health Management
Health Management, a MAXIMUS Company, is the UK’s largest independent occupational health provider, currently serving approximately 450 large public and private sector clients, who together employ approximately two million individuals. Health Management's health assessment services include health questionnaires, sickness absence referrals, pension appeals and on-site health services. Health Management employs the largest team of consultant occupational health physicians, who lead an established clinical team operating across more than 45 Health Management clinics and at more than 80 client sites throughout the UK. Health Management also manages a network of 200 occupational health and other specialist practitioners. Health Management is accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and SEQOHS, and has been ranked by the Sunday Times as one of the top 100 “Best Companies to Work for” in the UK. Learn more at www.healthmanltd.com.
About MAXIMUS
MAXIMUS is a leading operator of government health and human services programs in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia. The Company delivers business process services to improve the cost effectiveness, efficiency and quality of government-sponsored benefit programs, such as Medicaid, Medicare, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Health Insurance BC (British Columbia), as well as welfare-to-work and child support programs around the globe. The Company's primary customer base includes federal, provincial, state, county and municipal governments. Operating under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People®, MAXIMUS has approximately 11,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.maximus.com.
