Have sick note rules changed?

flyer2306

Hi all
As some may be aware my current ESA situation. I have been found fit for work and i'm appealing. First part was to claim JSA to have some income. I went to my doctors today to get a medical certificate for the 13 weeks sickness period allowed on JSA.
I did not get to see my usual doctor and saw someone else, she said she can give the sick note but she said she can only give the first one for 4 weeks. She then said you can call to get another and said if you need it past 8 weeks i will have to refer you to a mental health assessment?? This has me worried, I do have anxiety and panic attacks but my main doctor is aware of this. She then said they will see if there is any medication to help you etc.... I said to her that i'm already on medication and this has been dealt with by the other GP. She didn't seem to speak English very well and did not seem to understand me and just kept nodding.

I'm just a but confused now, she seemed to say she would have to refer me to give a sick note past 8 weeks, is this right? It seemed she thought this was my first appointment about my conditions and to get a first time sick note about them. It doesn't seem like she had my file open or had read it otherwise she would know that i'm on medication for the problems.

It's making my anxiety worse worrying i might have to go to this assessment, just that words worries me after this ESA WCA. Thank you

DomRavioli

flyer2306 wrote: »

Hi all
As some may be aware my current ESA situation. I have been found fit for work and i'm appealing. First part was to claim JSA to have some income. I went to my doctors today to get a medical certificate for the 13 weeks sickness period allowed on JSA.
I did not get to see my usual doctor and saw someone else, she said she can give the sick note but she said she can only give the first one for 4 weeks. She then said you can call to get another and said if you need it past 8 weeks i will have to refer you to a mental health assessment?? This has me worried, I do have anxiety and panic attacks but my main doctor is aware of this. She then said they will see if there is any medication to help you etc.... I said to her that i'm already on medication and this has been dealt with by the other GP. She didn't seem to speak English very well and did not seem to understand me and just kept nodding.

I'm just a but confused now, she seemed to say she would have to refer me to give a sick note past 8 weeks, is this right? It seemed she thought this was my first appointment about my conditions and to get a first time sick note about them. It doesn't seem like she had my file open or had read it otherwise she would know that i'm on medication for the problems.

It's making my anxiety worse worrying i might have to go to this assessment, just that words worries me after this ESA WCA. Thank you

GPs have 10 minutes to see, diagnose, treat and make notes, so it is pretty unlikely they would have read your notes - that is the same for most patients if the GP is not familiar with your health conditions.

A MH assessment could actually be a good thing - it opens pathways to therapies and things you don't get access to if you don't have one done. There's nothing to worry about, its purely for your own wellbeing, and to try and get you in recovery and help you to get to a place you are happy with.

It is common for GPs to only give 4 weeks on a fit note, especially if you haven't seen this GP before or not frequently. I wouldn't bring up their "doesn't seem to speak english very well" - they may have just been agreeing with you and listening.

There isn't anything to worry about with the MH assessment, they are there purely for your wellbeing and to see if there is anything they can help with, nothing more.

NeilCr

A pretty clear article about fit notes written by a GP here

http://www.gponline.com/tips-completing-fit-notes/article/1230675

TELLIT01

The link says a GP can provide a fit note for up to 3 months... It doesn't say that they should provide one for that period. My experience when working on ESA was that the vast majority of certificates issued at the start of an illness were for 4 weeks or less.

NeilCr

TELLIT01 wrote: »

The link says a GP can provide a fit note for up to 3 months... It doesn't say that they should provide one for that period. My experience when working on ESA was that the vast majority of certificates issued at the start of an illness were for 4 weeks or less.

Indeed.

But The OP thought the fit note system may have changed and I thought it would be useful for him to see it laid down