Quit work! Overhaul of medical certificate system could see Brits use app to take time off

BRITS may be able to get out of work using an app designed to free up doctors’ time.

Ministers want to trial an online system that will allow people with infections and minor injuries to take a few days off without seeing a GP, according to reports.

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The model will mean a website or app becomes the first port of call for a sick note, with an algorithm deciding whether your symptoms warrant time off work.

A government source said The times the idea was being tested as one of many to “find ways to make triage more efficient in a way that protects GP time”.

Another said: “If I have the flu and just need seven days off work and then come back, do I really need to see a doctor for that?”

The move is part of Rishi Sunak’s wider plans to crack down on Britain’s so-called “sick note culture”.

The Prime Minister said last week it was his “moral mission” to reform the benefits system and get more people back to work.

The plans involve stripping GPs of the power to issue fitness notes, which will become the responsibility of “specialist work and healthcare professionals”.

Figures show that around 2.8 million Brits are currently considered long-term sick and GPs issued 11 million fitness notes last year – 94 per cent classifying the beneficiary as “not fit for work”. .

The new system will include a “screening service that supports people seeking an appropriate grade for a pathway that best suits their individual health and employment needs”, according to ministers.

The online model would involve people entering their symptoms into the system, before being referred to a work and health service if they need treatment.

People with common infections such as cold and flu, or who just need a week off, could receive automatic medical certificates based on their symptoms, ministers think.

They admit that the system would need to be limited to specific illnesses and rigorously tested to prevent people from misusing it.

The Prime Minister said any new model would aim to better assess people and ensure they get support to help them stay in work if possible.

Kamila Hawthorne, president of the Royal College of GPs, said: “It is vital that if responsibility for issuing fitness grades is diverted elsewhere then this remains the priority for anyone involved in assessing the work ability of someone – and that they are trained appropriately, with safeguards in place to ensure appropriate decisions are made.

“The same goes for algorithm programming.”