Doctors to give 'fit notes' instead of sick notes

Workers who are off sick for longer than seven days will from now on receive so-called fit notes instead of sick notes from their GPs. 

The Statement of Fitness for Work, or 'fit note', is a new medical statement that doctors will now be issuing. It is relevant to all employers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

With the fit note the doctor will be able to advise their patient if they are "not fit for work" or a new option - "may be fit for work taking account of the following advice".

The onus will be on employers to help staff return to work in some capacity.

Fortis Investment in Parkway Singapore: Game changer in health care?

Fortis’ investment in Parkway of Singapore could well be the turning point for the Indian health-care sector. In 2010, health care is already India’s second-largest consumer-spending sector. At about Rs 180,000 crore in size, it is significantly smaller than Indians’ spending on food and grocery, but already more than what they spend on clothing and also more than all other sectors.

With a growth rate of over 15 per cent per year in the last decade, and this growth is likely to be sustained for decades to come on account of several factors, including the most obvious: the country’s population may touch the 1.2 billion mark by the time the next census is concluded in 2011, and then add another 150-odd million in the next 10 years alone! By 2020, the size of India’s health-care industry may well be over Rs 600,000 crore.