‘I’m a GP, I don’t have time to calculate PIP payments for the Government’

GPs do not have the time to assess costs needed for a patient receiving benefits under the Government’s welfare reform proposals, a leading doctor has said.

Dr Jay Verma, GP Partner at Shakespeare Health Centre in Hayes, west London, said although family doctors are open to reform, workforce shortages and ongoing high demand already leave them with little or no time to take on extra duties.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wants to make major changes to how the personal independence payments (PIP) benefit works, as they try to tackle the rising number of claimants with a mental health condition.

Reforms could include stopping regular cash payments, and instead offering claimants one-off grants for things like home adaptations.

Under the proposals, a new six-tier system of disability benefits would see many recipients receiving less money than now – benefits would be given according to people’s individual condition and specific needs.

The tier system would be based on a model in Norway known as “basic benefit”, where people are given monthly cash payments at one of six different rates, depending on the severity of their condition, their equipment and clinical needs, and other support.

Under the Norway model, people can receive financial support for a range of things such as electricity for charging a wheelchair, transport expenses, foods related to a special diet, clothing, bedding, and shoes. This evidence is reviewed by a doctor contracted to the Norwegian equivalent of the DWP, which makes the final decision on entitlement.

“I simply cannot imagine a scenario in which a GP will be delighted to start researching costs of home adaptations, mobility aids and the local per mile cost of a taxi when there are patients who need our clinical skills,” Dr Verma told i.

“Incidentally, the DWP might be interested to know this is an area where occupational therapists are experts. However, the problem there is that there aren’t enough of them, either.

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“As a GP I am open to reform which helps clinicians and patients but any proposals need to bear in mind that if they copy models from other countries, their funding systems are very different from the NHS. We are paid per patient per year (£107 in 2024-25) not per consultation and our contract as GPs is not with the DWP.”

Rishi Sunak outlined his plans for welfare reform earlier this month where he also spoke about tackling Britain’s “sick note culture”. The Government plans to introduce a new NHS algorithm that will enable patients to self-issue sick notes, in an effort to reduce the workload of GPs.

Dr Verma, who is also president of the GP section at the Royal Society of Medicine, said: “The problem with fit notes, particularly in recent years, has not been that we haven’t had the editorial scope to write imaginative prose, it’s that we’ve more and more patients to see and a growing number of people with multiple and long-term health conditions and the rapid rise in patients citing mental health concerns.

“If a patient asks to be signed off, my priority is treating or managing the condition which is causing the problem. There will always be people to try to take advantage of the system and the Government would be wise to meet with GPs to hear their experiences and ideas.”

The welfare reform plans are subject to a 12-week consultation, ending on 23 July. It is highly unlikely there will be enough time to implement the changes before the general election, which is expected to take place by the end of the year.

Charities have wanted that threatening mental health patients with taking away their benefits puts them at greater risk of harm and will delay their return to work.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity SANE, said: “What particularly concerns SANE about the new proposals is that mental health problems are often invisible and fluctuate from month to month or day to day, and that assessments for benefits are all too often based on ‘snapshot’ judgements which do not take account of how hidden and disabling mental illness can be.

“While there is such an acute shortage of mental health professionals – doctors, nurses, counsellors – we are worried that ill-informed judgements may force people to work when they may be at risk of relapse which may worsen their depression, anxiety or other conditions.”

Mr Sunak has argued there was a “moral underpinning” to overhauling the benefits system, with the Government warning caseloads and costs are spiralling.

The DWP said there were now 2.6 million people of working age claiming PIP and disability living allowance – with 33,000 new awards for PIP each month. This is expected to cost the taxpayer £28bn a year by 2028-29 – a 110 per cent rise in spending since 2019.