Disabled people and benefit claimants are set to protest in London against a scheme that embeds job coaches in GP surgeries, arguing it blurs the line between healthcare and the government's work programme. Critics warn the initiative jeopardises doctor-patient confidentiality and risks alienating patients from their doctors.
The pilot scheme, called Working Better, operates in six GP surgeries in Islington and is funded largely by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with some local clinical commissioning group support. It offers unemployed patients with long-term health conditions access to one-to-one employment support from Remploy job coaches, who are based in surgeries up to one day a week.
Activists from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) say the scheme perverts the primary role of the NHS, which is to help people recover from illness. Paula Peters, a DPAC activist, said: “There is a blurring of the lines between healthcare and the DWP and it’s wrong. We are already having to watch everything we say to doctors.”
One controversial aspect is the proposal for job coaches to write directly into patients' medical records, which has alarmed campaigners. Doctors are also encouraged to discuss employment with patients and refer them to employment services. Critics fear this is part of a strategy by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to bring jobcentre culture into the NHS.
Islington Council leader Richard Watts defended the scheme, stating it is entirely voluntary and not linked to any welfare sanctions. “The scheme is not about work being a ‘cure’ or ‘fix’ for people’s impairments and health conditions. It’s about breaking down barriers and making employment support more accessible,” he said.
