Welfare to work: the role of general practice.

This paper considers the potential effects of the government's Welfare to Work policy on general practitioner (GP) working patterns, and aims to explore the relationship between unemployment, ill health, and GP sickness certification. Social security and employment policy initiatives are discussed in relation to the literature on the relationship between unemployment and ill health, sociological and psychological perspectives on work and unemployment, medicalisation of unemployment, adjudication of fitness for work, re-employment and health, and treatment of barriers to employment. The authors postulate that Welfare to Work policy may depend for its success on the crucial role of general practice in sickness certification.