From 1 July 2022, new regulations allow pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to sign sick people off work. The new regulations will amend previous legislation to permit registered nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists to sign statements of fitness for work.
Additionally, the regulations newly define a “healthcare professional” as either a doctor or one of the four additional professions now allowed to sign fit notes.
The stated aim is to free up GPs’ time so that they can deal with other matters.
