News

3 March 2008

Static attitude to DDA turns workers into claimants

Speaking at the Claims Management Rehabilitation Conference, Susan Scott Parker OBE, founder and chief executive of the Employers' Forum on Disability, warned that employers are 'losing good people' through misunderstanding of the Disability Discrimination Act.

She said that DDA compliance is not static; it requires flexibility and an ongoing commitment to meeting the changing needs of staff. These people could end up being forced to make avoidable claims because they are unable to return to, or stay at, their workplace.Susan Scott Parker also said she thought that 'the rehabilitation community fail to provide services to employers that are adequate and efficient.'

Her comments coincide with the health secretary Alan Johnson's suggested overhaul of the sick note system to focus on what workers are able to do, rather than what they are not, to help people back to work.

This, the first Claims Management Rehabilitation Conference, sponsored by AIG Medical & Rehabilitation, was held on February 12 at One Great George Street, London. It was chaired by Robin de Wilde QC, chairman of the Ogden Working Party, secretary of BICMA, former chairman of the Professional Negligence Bar Association and fellow at the Royal Society of Medicine.

Other speakers included Norman Cottington, BICMA; Christopher Mercer, Consultant physiotherapist; Melanie Summers, Managing Director of AIG Medical & Rehabilitation; Tony Goff, chairman of Motor Accident Solicitors' Society; Liz Haunch Independent Case Management Consultancy; Heather Batey, a head injury specialist; David Bingham, CEO of IPRS UK; and Claire Ginders Remploy, and trustee of the Vocational Rehabilitation Association.

The conference proved a great success, with more than 170 delegates attending and excellent opportunities for debate and networking. The headline sponsor was AIG Medical & Rehabilitation; silver sponsors were HCML; Reach Personal Injury Services; TICCS The Injury Care Clinics; and Nuffield Diagnostics.

For more information, visit http://www.legal-medical.co.uk/rehabilitation2008.

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