Back pain initiative reduced numbers

Department of Social and Family Affairs: Over half of people claiming disability payments for lower back pain from the Department of Social and Family Affairs submitted a final medical certificate prior to undergoing an assessment by a Department of Social and Community Affairs doctor.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General reveals that the Department of Social and Family Affairs had initiated a targeted approach in the management of claims for lower back pain in 2003.

The Comptroller said that under the initiative new claimants for lower back pain were given top priority and referred for prompt medical examination.Pilot projects were undertaken in Dublin and Cork.

The Comptroller found that the results in respect of those called for examination under the project were significantly different from those pertaining to medical referrals generally.

The Comptroller said a comparison of the project and general results revealed the following:

"The success of the project was due to a number of factors including early intervention. The pilot project has been continued in Dublin and Cork and extended to other regions. It is intended to ultimately fast track all lower back pain cases for prompt medical examination. The Department should explore the scope for extending this type of approach to other identified high risk ailments," the report states.

However, it also reveals that of the 1,200 lower back pain claimants removed from benefit under the project, over 460 later submitted a new disability claim of which 204 were back related.