Afternoon Closure Wednesday 2nd October
Forres Health Centre and both Practices will be closed on the afternoon of Wednesday 2nd October from 1.30pm to give protected time for staff training. If you have an urgent
Fit Note (Sick note)
Who do I see?
Self certify first 7 days, then see options below
Advice:
For periods of absence of up to 7 calendar days, please complete a self-certification certificate. This is available from your employer or can be completed on the government website.
For periods of absence of more than 7 days, please either:
- Select ‘Get Sick/Fit Note’ from the Forres GP Practices website Home Page.
- Book a routine GP appointment by calling 0345 337 1120.
Doctors and other clinicians can only issue notes that they can justify with medical evidence. So, when requesting your note, give us enough information to support your request. We may contact you, normally by telephone, if we feel we need more information from you or are not in a position to write you a note.
Sick notes should only be issued for people that are incapable of all work. If you feel that you are capable of some work but not your usual duties, you could consider this with your employer and they may be able to accommodate changes to your work or role to keep you working. When you consult us about a medical problem that affects your fitness to work we may consider this option with you. We can request your employer make some adjustments in a ‘May be fit for work’ note. This may allow you to get back to work sooner and support your recovery. If your employer cannot support the changes we request to keep you at work, they can just treat the note as a ‘sick note’ to allow you to be off work and support the payment of statutory sick pay.
If you have been discharged from the hospital, your hospital team will issue any fit notes for the entire period of your recovery. Please contact the ward staff (even after discharge) if this has not been done. To quote from the government’s own website regarding this:
Fit notes can be issued in any relevant setting where an assessment of patients’ fitness for work is made. It is important that the healthcare professional responsible for the episode of care is the one who issues the fit note if it is within their ability. It is critical that patients are not signposted to other healthcare professionals purely for the purposes of certifying a fit note where this is avoidable, such as part of hospital discharges.
Schools should not request a GP letter to confirm absence, this can be written by a parent or guardian.
A Fit note can be backdated if required, please discuss this when you see the GP. Do not ask for an emergency consultation to obtain a fit note.
Private Certificates
If you or your employer require further information concerning your period(s) of illness, then your Doctor may be required to issue you with a letter. This does not fall under NHS services and a charge will apply for this service. Please check with our reception team.