Pointless sick notes placing extra ‘burden’ on overloaded GPs
Dr Ewen McPhee says workplaces need better policies on medical certificates, saying his weekend respiratory clinic is over run with medical certificate requests
A prominent GP has called for an overhaul of medical certificate policies, saying patients are overwhelming doctors with demands for sick notes for coughs and colds.
Dr Ewen McPhee, former president of the RDAA, says his weekend respiratory clinic is clogged with patients wanting medical certificates.
The GP from Emerald in central Queensland says workplaces need to adopt a more “common sense” approach to avoid placing further pressure on doctors.
“About 10% of the people presenting to the respiratory clinic were not actually sick. They just wanted a medical certificate to satisfy their employer,” Dr McPhee told ABC News on Wednesday.
