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Who can certify fit notes? UK Government changes from today will also apply to Wales

01 Jul 2022 3 minute read
Who can certify fit notes? UK Government changes from today will also apply to Wales
A doctor writing. Picture by Libreshot.

Nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists can also certify fit notes from today, as well as doctors, in a UK Government change that will also apply in Wales.

The UK Government said the move will cut the pressure on NHS doctors, particularly GPs.

Fit notes provide evidence to employers about a person’s absence and any relevant advice on how to support their employees to remain in or return to work.

Updated guidance to healthcare professionals and their employers on these changes has been published, setting out how to support people to remain in work while managing a health condition.

Ministers said the change – which applies across England, Scotland and Wales and is being mirrored in Northern Ireland – will make it easier to get advice certified by the most relevant healthcare professional.

Although the change also relates to health, which is devolved, employment is a matter currently reserved to the UK Government.

People will no longer have to be sent to a doctor to have a fit note signed when seeing and receiving treatment from an alternative professional for their health condition.

Chloe Smith, Minister for Disabled People, said: “Having a health condition doesn’t have to take you out of a job. This change will make it easier for people and employers to get the advice they need so people can stay in work, whilst also reducing bureaucracy and freeing up doctors’ time.

“Too often we see people being faced with unnecessary challenges to get a fit note. More professionals being able to offer this vital service will speed up the process and support people to return to or remain in work.”

‘Better served’

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Slashing unnecessary bureaucracy is key to ensuring more patients can see their GP quickly and get the care they need as we bust the Covid backlogs.

“That’s why we have introduced these powers to ensure certifying fit notes can be carried out by other healthcare professionals – helping to relieve pressures on GPs so they can focus on patients and deliver an extra 50 million appointments a year by 2024.”

Wendy Preston, the Royal College of Nursing’s head of nursing practice, said: “This is a positive step and is something the Royal College of Nursing was instrumental in bringing about.

“Nursing staff are often the first people patients see, particularly in primary care, and especially for those living with a long-term condition who may need time off to manage their condition at times.

“This will allow them to better serve the needs of their patients and reduce the need for further unnecessary appointments with other healthcare professionals.

“Nurses have the skills and knowledge to make challenging decisions and must not feel pressured to sign a fit note, much the same as our medical colleagues.”


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Dail y Goeden
Dail y Goeden
1 year ago

This is (of course) a sensible and welcome change. It fits with the reality of several decades now, that so many of the “PAMs” (“Professions Allied to Medicine”) – nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, some pharmacists – will often be the main “health person” now working with a patient during an episode of illness, and so they’ll be in the informed and responsible position to know, and to certify, when then citizen is, or isn’t, ready and able to return to employment. (And yes, this can be certified as grades of employment – fit for a phased return after illness, or… Read more »

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