Self-certifying illness calls from doctors

Doctors are calling for workers to be able to self-certify sickness for up to two weeks to help reduce the number of unnecessary GP appointments.

The British Medical Association's annual conference was concerned with the rise in demands for appointments, with the current situation requiring workers to need a doctor's note if they are off for more than a week.

However, while the government has said it has no plans to change its policy, GPs are arguing that more trust should be allowed to alleviate burdens on medical staff.

Dr Richard Vautrey, a Leeds medic who sits on the BMA's GPs committee, advised that doubling the length of time someone is able to self-certify illness would be a sensible move in helping to ease the strain.

He said: “If you've got a patient who very clearly has an illness that is going to last 10 days to two weeks, why do they need to make an appointment with a GP, just to get that note to tell their employer what their employer probably knows already, and what the patient should be trusted to be able to pass on?”