Let workers self-certify illness for 14 days, say GPs
Would this new arrangement put more pressure on rural surgeries, or as an unintended consequence make them even less busy?
Workers should be able to self-certify sickness for up to two weeks to help reduce the number of unnecessary GP appointments, doctors say.
People need a doctor’s note if they are off for more than a week, but GPs said people should be trusted more and it could reduce the growing burden on GPs.
The call at the British Medical Association’s annual conference comes amid rising demand for appointments.
The government said it had no plans to change the existing policy.
Doctors also want to be paid for carrying out health checks on patients who apply for firearms licences.
GPs are asked by police to report any health conditions – mental or physical – that may present a risk.
These assessments can take up to an hour to do as medical records have to be examined, and doctors said that uses valuable NHS resources.
Dr John Canning, a GP from Middlesbrough and chairman of the BMA’s professional fees committee, said: “That’s half a dozen appointments that it will take up. That’s six people who don’t get seen.
“We’re busy enough doing the day job, curing the sick.”
Both these issues on their own represent a relatively small share of the average GP workload, but Dr Richard Vautrey, a Leeds medic who sits on the BMA’s GPs committee, said combined with other issues, they could start to help reduce the burden.