‘I didn’t sign up to be a truant officer’: Why this GP is sick of sick notes
Dr Max Mollenkopf says the requests chew up his time and take appointments away from those who need them.
A GP frustrated at spending at least half an hour a day seeing patients for sick notes says he did not spend years studying to become a “truancy officer”.
Dr Max Mollenkopf estimates he sees two patients a day at his Newcastle practice, in the heart of NSW’s mining region, for the sole reason of supplying a certificate for their self-limiting illnesses.
“Every week, I see patients who come into the practice saying, ‘I have diarrhoea and can’t go to my shift at the mines today,’” Dr Mollenkopf tells 6minutes.
“They are told by employers that if they wish to be paid for the hours not worked, then they need a doctor’s note.
