British Osteopathic Association Response to Today’s Report

British Osteopathic Association Response to Today’s Report highlighting that ill health costs the British economy around £103bn

The Department for Work and Pensions is preparing to publish a report by Dame Carol Black, the DWP's National Director for Health and Work, on assisting people on sick leave to return to work. The report puts the total cost of ill-health to the British economy at around £103bn, with the bulk of this figure (£63bn) being made up of the benefit costs and lost taxes for people who are not working due to illness or disability.

As part of

her recommendations, Dame Black proposes trials of a new Fit for Work service to provide access to specialists such as physiotherapists, osteopaths and counsellors for all employees in the early stages of sickness. Dame Black has been reported as saying that the conditions are often treatable and even preventable if they could be supported early. Commenting on this morning’s Today programme, Dame Black specifically referred to the potential of osteopathy when treating and preventing conditions such as bad backs.

On Wednesday 12 March, the BOA held a parliamentary reception in the House of Commons focused on Osteopathy: Complementary Healthcare for a 21st Century Workforce. The purpose of the event was to highlight the benefits of osteopathy and its greater potential if Government funding was introduced.

In her presentation the president of the BOA, Karen Robinson, focused on the potential benefits to the NHS; by getting patients off waiting lists, and reducing the need for expensive and/or ineffective drugs; and to the economy; by assisting those on long-term sick leave back into work, thereby reducing working days lost and the associated benefit payments. Osteopathy has the potential to even more beneficial if interventions occur early on.

Musculoskeletal problems have taken a significant toll on the UK economy. The Department of Health’s Musculoskeletal Services Framework 2006 Report highlighted that musculoskeletal patients are the second largest group (22%) receiving incapacity benefits and an estimated 12.3 million working days are lost every year through work-related musculoskeletal problems. The cost to the UK economy of these lost days is staggering.