Pinfold Health Centre, Field Road, Bloxwich, Walsall WS3 3JP
Telephone: 01922 775 194
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If you’re off work sick for 7 days or less, your employer should not ask for medical evidence that you’ve been ill. Instead they can ask you to confirm that you’ve been ill. You can do this by filling in a form yourself when you return to work.
This is called self-certification.
Download a template self certification form
A medical certificate note must be signed by a doctor. The Fit Notes mean your GP can give you advice to help you return to work. This is because work can play an important part in helping people to recover from illness on injury. The GP can either say you are not fit for work, or can say you may be fit for work. The GP will choose the option for may be fit to work if they think that returning to work – with support from your employer – will help you.
There is also space for the GP to give advice to your employer about the impact of your illness or injury and can suggest common ways in which your employer can help you return to work such as allowing you to work part time or temporarily or by changing your duties, for example, if you have back pain, avoiding heavy lifting.
Fit notes are also sometimes called doctor’s notes, sick notes, medical certificates or doctor’s statements.
For more information please visit; https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/caring-carers-and-long-term-conditions/when-do-i-need-a-fit-note/
If you have seen a doctor at the practice regarding the problem you need a medical certificate for (or we have received a letter from the hospital about your sickness) you many not need to see the doctor again.
If you have not seen a doctor at the practice and we have had no information from a medical professional about your illness, you will not be able to get a certificate without an appointment. Please book a routine appointment; urgent appointments are only provided for genuine medical emergencies and not for the purpose of certificates.
In either case there are rules governing the issue of sick certificates and the GP may not be able to supply one, depending on the information you provide.
If you are under the care of a hospital, your certificate may be issued by the hospital, rather than by the practice.
If you need a fit note you can call the surgery on 01922 775 194 and tell the receptionist. Usually the doctor will phone you. This saves time as you might not need to come into the practice. Fit notes can be sent to you via email or collected from the surgery. We do not send Fit notes by post or directly to your employer.
You can request a Fit note online using the NHS app, Patient online services if you have an account for these services. Alternatively you can use the contact form and select the option "I have an admin query" and follow the instructions on screen .
There is usually no charge for providing a fit note if you are off sick for more than seven days.
Some employers may request a fit note (e.g. from employees who repeatedly take time off sick) even if they are off work for seven days or less. This is a private non-NHS medical certificate.
For sickness of seven days or less, a charge of £20 is payable in order for us to provide a certificate.
If your certificate runs out, but you are still sick, you will need to submit a request for a further fit note. You can do this in a number of ways. You can submit a request using the contact form, or phone the reception team.
Fit notes can be back-dated so it is not necessary to make an emergency appointment to renew your certificate. If you attend an emergency appointment for the purpose of getting a medical certificate you will be asked to rebook. Where you request a fit note to be back dated, this can only be done where the GP is aware of your condition and there is information to support this within your clinical record. If there is a significant gap between one fit note and the next request however, the GP may not be able to issue a fit note on these occasions.
