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Musculoskeletal Conditions

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. I was about to come to the effect on society. I agree with him that early treatment—not just drug treatment, but other support such as pain relief and so on—is vital. This debate is different from most debates because I am not asking the Minister for huge sums of money for new miracle drugs; instead, I am asking that the available money be better co-ordinated and better used. Dame Carol Black's report, "Working for a healthier tomorrow", which referred to the point made by the hon. Gentleman, found that musculoskeletal conditions are the most common work-related illnesses, costing society more than £7 billion a year. The Health and Safety Executive estimated that, in 2007-08, 28 million working days were lost in the UK, a quarter of them due to musculoskeletal conditions. In their response to Dame Carol Black's report, the Government said:""Every day, working people are calling on the NHS for support, especially for mental health and musculoskeletal disorders. We are committed to improving access to key services that are proven to be effective in helping people with these conditions manage their return to work."" That is a laudable aim, but ARMA found that 57 per cent. of primary care trusts had made no contact with the Department for Work and Pensions' pathways to work providers to ensure that local people were assisted back to work, despite Dame Carol Black's review finding that, once in receipt of incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance, those with a musculoskeletal condition had a greater probability of returning to work. The musculoskeletal services framework that the Government adopted in 2006, stated:""PCT's…are strongly recommended to make links with the DWP Pathways to Work pilots…being set up in their area"," but clearly, that has not happened. Making such links is an urgent priority if the Department for Work and Pensions is to get people on incapacity benefit back to work. The framework emphasises my point that this is not about needing new drugs or new money, but about using what is available to assist people to live normal lives.