Sick Certificate or a Med3
If you are likely to need a fit note (AKA a “sick cert” or a Med3) when you come out of hospital or following Outpatient attendance please ask the Dr treating you in hospital to provide you with one before you leave. [1] This information sheet gives you some myths and facts about this issue
[1] In Jul 2022 the law changed to allow some nurses, physios, pharmacists and Occupational Therapists to sign a Med3
Why is this important? Why doesn’t the GP just do it?
Thousands of appointments and telephone calls with GPs are taken up each year by patients requesting fit notes when they could have been issued by Hospital Drs and Healthcare Professionals. This has a direct effect on how other patients can access the GP. Please help us to keep our appointments free for patients who have genuine clinical need rather than administrative paperwork that could easily have been dealt with by others at the end of your hospital visit or stay.
Myths
“consultants and junior doctors don’t write fit notes. Fit notes are a GP’s job”
Untrue. See guidance below[2]
[2]“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”.
“the hospital don’t have any Fit Note pads”
Untrue. Hospitals order these like many other stationery items from BSO.
“the hospital can only issue fit notes for 1 to 2 weeks at the very most”
Untrue
“the hospital can’t issue you with a fit note if you’ve only been to outpatients”
Untrue
“the hospital won’t be able to send me a fit note”
Untrue
Facts
The Dr who is treating you should sign you off for the appropriate period according to the condition you have been treated for.
Each fit note in first six months of an illness can only have a maximum duration of 3 months. Many patients will not need that length of med3 and a note is not required to go back to work sooner than the duration. See the link below:
As a last resort if you are encountering difficulty please contact any of the following:
- Belfast Trust: (028) 9504 8000 / Email: [email protected]
- Norther Trust: (028) 9442 4655 / Email: [email protected]
- Southern Trust: (028) 3756 4600 / Email: [email protected]
- South Eastern Trust: (028) 9056 1427 / Email: [email protected]
- Western Trust: (028) 7161 1226 / Email: [email protected]
- Ulster Independent Clinic: (028) 9066 1212 / Website: https://ulsterindependentclinic.com/contact/
- Kingsbridge: (028) 9066 7878 / Email: [email protected]