From today nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists can all legally certify fit notes, reducing the pressure on NHS doctors and scrapping unnecessary bureaucracy.
Updated guidance to health care professionals and their employers on these changes is also being published today, setting out how to support people to remain in work while managing a health condition.
This change recognises the importance of supporting people to remain in work, while managing a health condition by providing advice to an employer about how to support someone. By leveraging the expertise of a wider range of healthcare professionals, the change also streamlines the process.
The change, which applies across England, Scotland and Wales, and is being mirrored in Northern Ireland, will support and empower better conversations about work and health between employers and staff by making it easier to get advice certified by the most relevant healthcare professional.
It will also improve a patient’s experience and reduce pressure on doctors, as people will no longer have to be sent to a doctor to have the fit note signed when seeing and receiving treatment from an alternative professional for their health condition.
The change is being delivered in GP surgeries, hospital and other NHS settings where healthcare professionals delivering NHS services will have access to the new fit note form.
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. They also provide evidence for claims to benefits for those who are out of work.
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work Chloe Smith MP 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.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid MP 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.”
