Burnham Health Centre

18.09.2024 – Parking – Please be advised we are having repairs made to our roof and there will be limited parking at the surgery for at least 6 weeks, if you are able to avoid bringing a car to your appointments please do consider this.

Flu Season is upon us! Invites are being sent out over the next few weeks, please do book an appointment as soon as possible. Clinics start from October 1st. Flu

RSV Vaccines now available to book  – more information: New RSV Vaccine

There will be lots of changes to our system in the near future and we will keep you updated.

Get a fit/sick note

What you need to do (including what form you need to fill in) depends on the numbers of days of illness you have had.

You do not need a sick note from your GP practice if you are sick for under 7 days.

From Citizens Advice
Very clear guidance what you should do if you are sick under 7 days, including a link to the SC2 form (which you can fill in and download) if your employer is unable to supply one and information on who you can phone for advice about sick pay
How to get sick pay How to get sick pay – Citizens Advice

From HMRC
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Employee’s statement of sickness form you can
Download and fill in for your employer:

Despite this guidance occasionally employers insist on a note from your GP. A fit/sick note requested in this situation will involve a charge.

Private medical certificate (sick note)

Occasionally employers insist on a sick note from your GP even when this is not required and you can instead fill in a self-certificate for less than 7 days illness. A fit/sick note requested by your employer in this situation will involve a charge. The present charge for a private medical (sick note) certificate can normally be found under private fee charges under

If you’re off work sick for more than 7 days, your employer will usually ask for a fit note (or Statement of Fitness for Work) from a healthcare professional. Fit notes are sometimes referred to as medical statements or a doctor’s note or a sick note. There is no charge for this certificate.

Already seen by your GP about this illness
If you have already been seen by your GP about this illness and you subsequently need a certificate this will be available within a week on request if approved by the GP.

Request for an extension of a previous fit note
On occasions if you have already had a fit note for the same illness then your GP may not need to see you to issue a new fit note.

Request a sick (fit) note

In both circumstances you can request a sick (fit) note by telephoning the surgery and speaking to reception.

Hospital attendances

For any hospital inpatient stay (NHS or private) you should get the fit note from the team looking after you. In addition, if you are seen in hospital outpatients your consultant can complete a fit note at that point, if they think you should be off work. This is a link to more detailed information under

Understand fit/sick notes

There are detailed answers to some common questions often asked about fit notes, see under

This includes:

  • What are they, when can you fill in a self-certificate yourself without seeing a doctor and when might you need one from a doctor?
  • Who should fill them in if you have been in hospital (NHS or private)?
  • When can a doctor complete a fit note without seeing you?

Support for a return to work

There is also local support for work, including returning to work after a longer absence, see under

  • Work see section “local support – self referral”

This includes local employment advice and guidance to support you in employment whether you are currently in work, off sick due to mental ill-health or unemployed.

Skip to content