Sick Note - A History of the British Welfare State (Hardcover)

Sick Note shows how the question of 'who is really sick?' has never been straightforward and will continue to perplex the British state. Sick Note is a history of how the British state asked, 'who is really sick?' Tracing medical certification for absence from work from 1948 to 2010, Gareth Millward shows that doctors, employers, employees, politicians, media commentators, and citizens concerned themselves with measuring sickness. At various times, each understood that a signed note from a doctor was not enough to 'prove' whether someone was really sick. Yet, with no better alternative on offer, the sick note survived in practice and in the popular imagination - just like the welfare state itself. Sick Note reveals the interplay between medical, employment, and social security policy. The physical note became an integral part of working and living in Britain, while the term 'sick note' was often deployed rhetorically as a mocking nickname or symbol of Britain's economic and political troubles. Using government policy documents, popular media, internet archives, and contemporary research, Millward covers the evolution of medical certification and the welfare state since the Second World War, demonstrating how sickness and disability policies responded to demographic and economic changes - though not always satisfactorily for administrators or claimants. Moreover, despite the creation of 'the fit note' in 2010, the idea of 'the sick note' has remained. With the specific challenges posed by the global pandemic in the early 2020s, Sick Note shows how the question of 'who is really sick?' has never been straightforward and will continue to perplex the British state.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	September 2022
Authors:	Gareth Millward (Research Fellow)
Dimensions:	240 x 160 x 19mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	256
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-286574-8
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social welfare & social services > Welfare & benefit systems Books > Medicine > General issues > Health systems & services > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history
LSN:	0-19-286574-9
Barcode:	9780192865748

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!