If you are seen in hospital and need to be signed off from work, it is the responsibility of the hospital to provide you with a Sick/Fit Note for the expected duration of your absence from work. The GP is not able to provide the sick/fit note. Please contact the hospital department you were seen by to arrange your sick/fit note.

If you need an extension to the Sick/Fit Note issued originally by the hospital, please contact the hospital department that issued the note to request the extension.

If you have been ill for 7 days or less you don’t need to see a Doctor. You can complete a Self-Certification form yourself. However some employers insist on a Doctor’s note regardless. A Doctors note under these circumstances involves a charge payable by the employer.

Many employers have their own self-certification forms. If your employer doesn’t have its own form you can download the Self Certification Form. Please print it, fill it in and hand it in to your employer. You do not need to see a Doctor.

If you have been ill for more than 7 days you will need a doctor’s certificate. These certificates are called ‘Fitness to Work’ Certificates.

Please complete an eConsult to provide your doctor with the information needed to issue a Fit Note. Usually this will be sufficient to allow the doctor to advise you when the Fit Note is ready for collection. However in exceptional circumstances the doctor may call you or arrange for an appointment.

Once we have confirmed receipt of your eConsult, please allow a few days for the Fit Note to be prepared. Sick/ fit notes can be backdated, however this can only happen where an earlier consultation has taken place. For instance, if you saw your doctor last Monday but did not realise you needed one until now, they could issue you a fit note from the earlier date. They cannot issue one where no consultation has taken place.

If you have already had a Sick Note (Fit Note) for this illness your Doctor may not need to see you to issue an additional Sick Note. Please complete an eConsult. We will contact you to let you know when you can collect your Sick / Fit Note or we may contact you to arrange an appointment.