Certificates and reports
Medical certificates includes forms like ‘fitness to work’, confusingly also called ‘sick notes’, prescription exemption forms, maternity exemption forms.
Medical reports are are outside the provision of services in the NHS. Sometimes requires an examination.
Who
Certificates can be for anyone who is off work for a week, those who have a chronic condition and are eligible for a free prescription. They can be others such as proof of pregnancy.
A Report could be for an insurance application, insurance claim or applying for a taxi driving licence.
How
Medical certificates are usually and are free of charge. It usually takes 2 weeks to complete them.
A medical report is usually outside the services provided by the NHS.
As a result, there is a charge and a wait of 6 weeks.
We can help you get the information you require online, free of charge, straight away.
Sick notes
Sick notes (fitness to work certificates)
Less than 7 days
if you have been off work for less than 7 days, you can ‘self certificate’. You can complete this form if you have been off work for more than 3 consecutive days. Your employer has a legal duty to accept this as proof illness. Sometimes employers ask for a ‘private medical certificate’ for the first 7 days and agree to pay a fee. However, due to high clinical demand and the fact that you can self certify we do not currently have capacity to do this at present.
More than 7 days.
If you’re not feeling well, we will do all we can to quickly get what you need. Just give us a call between 12 – 1 between Tuesday and Thursday and you and the GP can have a discussion in regard to your request. You may find that the GP may ask a few questions such as the organisation that you are working for, how long you may need off, and the reason you need the sick note. We also need to ask what your job involves and if there are any changes that could be made in your duties or hours which could mean that you could return to work gradually.
We want to ensure that you are off for the appropriate amount of time, and to think about how we can get you back to work fit and well. Once you have answered the questions most of the time the sick note will be done the same day or the next and will be sent to you via text message. Let us know if you get stuck. All of this is free. We have many requests for sick notes and so plenty of ways for you to request one. You can also request it online, but may involve asking more questions – so is probably easier to call.
About half the people who have been off for 1 year, never return to work. Getting back to work will improve your health outcomes.
Proof of registration
You may need of a letter to prove your registration with us, and we’re happy to provide this. We may first offer a patient summary to prove your address. However, if this doesn’t suit you, we can offer a letter to state your proof of registration. There is a charge of £20 for this letter.
Driving medicals
There are medical reports that do have a charge for such as Transport for London (TFL) and lorry license forms. This is because they include a full face-to-face consultation, and the GP may have to go through your whole medical history. It is best to get the eye test section of this done by an optician. We’re finding that TFL increasingly return reports if you were born abroad, as we do not have your full medical records. Don’t worry about this. Call us at any time. Please note that there is a charge of £100 for this medical report.
Other reports
Unfortunately, there are some reports that we are struggling to do due to high clinical demand. For housing letters as you can share your housing conditions with the council and have your medical records. The council has it’s own medical advisors. We do not sign passport photos or any identification documents, but these can be done by most solicitors offices or teachers.
Finally, if you have any queries about a report you need, get in touch with us and we would be happy to advise you on what to do.
