GPs want to end the sick note

DOCTORS are calling for the end of sick notes. The British Medical Association's annual conference called for patients to be allowed to write their own sick notes, giving doctors more time for other responsibilities.

The vice-president of the local branch of the BMA, Dr Brian Parkin, said that the issue had not been raised locally.

But he said that it could make more sense, because sick notes were rarely a problem for established illnesses.

And on short-term illnesses the perception of patients' fitness was usually very dependent on how they said they felt.

Most UK companies allow workers to self-certify for seven days; in Guernsey it is three days.

'In a way that could make it more of a problem here, but it is not an issue that we have discussed locally or that doctors are complaining about,' Dr Parkin said.

'I think local doctors are happy to accept their role, but are aware of certain inconsistencies nationally and if there were any changes in the law, or if someone wanted to discuss it, we certainly would.'

He said that frequent short-term illness was more of a disciplinary issue, probably to be dealt with by the employer and that very few medical conditions arose frequently.

'Any system will be abused by a minority and if someone was missing every Monday with a hangover, then they don't need a doctor's note anyway,' he said.

Doctors at the conference, which Dr Parkin was unable to attend, agreed that sick notes were a waste of time and voted unanimously for the current system to be scrapped.

Allowing patients to write their own notes would be better; spot checks would confirm whether they were telling the truth.

* About 20m. sick notes are written by UK doctors each year but as many as 5m. are bogus.

*UK workers take an estimated 166m. sick days each year - about 6.8 per employee. The most common reasons are stress, depression and backache.