Sections:
Freedom of Information Act 2000, request no. F2006/248
Date of release 22 November 2006
Private Healthcare for staff on long term sick leave
Has DFID considered paying for staff on long term sick leave to have operations done privately to facilitate their swift return to work?
DFID is, in line with Government policy, committed to the use of the National Health Service. Therefore we have no specific guidelines that govern payment for private operations for staff on long term sick leave, since we presume staff will have free access to the NHS. We have not had any cases in the UK where the return of staff on long term sick leave has been unduly delayed while they waited for treatment.
However DFID has over 500 staff working overseas, some in countries where the healthcare facilities, which are not always free at the point of delivery, are very poor or simply inadequate. As an employer, it is our responsibility to ensure good quality health care on a par with that available under the NHS for the well being and morale of our staff and their families serving overseas.
We have a healthcare contract with International SOS Assistance (ISOS) who guide us in assessing the best healthcare approach for staff serving overseas. When it is clear that an individual overseas requires an operation, International SOS assess whether is more cost effective to have the operation in-country, in a nearby third country (if local healthcare facilities are considered inadequate) or to return to the UK. International SOS must approve medical evacuations, in association with our Welfare and Counselling Service.
The factors that International SOS assesses are – urgency, standard of facilities, duty of care, risk of delay, cost, and, guided by local managers and our Welfare and Counselling Service, the impact of the individual’s absence on the overseas office. The norm is that routine medical conditions that cause minor aggravation could wait for treatment or operations until the individual returns to the UK, if treatment or operations can’t easily be carried out overseas. On the other hand those that are urgent or essential or it would not be cost effective for the individual to return to the UK, will be carried out privately, if a free healthcare service is not available in the country of service.