There is a large variation in the length of time different GPs sign employees off work for comparable conditions, even though there is government guidance setting out recommended timescales, according to a report on the BBC website.
Guidance from the DWP (PDF format, 223K) recommends an employee should be signed off for seven weeks after a hysterectomy, but only one in four GPs taking part in the survey recommended this length of time, with others suggesting between two and 13 weeks off work.
The research, carried out by Manchester University, shows that only one third of GPs were aware that there was government guidance on sick leave and only one in twenty actually followed that advice.
Only around one third of GPs had received training on carrying out sickness certification.
The sickness certification process will be reformed in April 2010 when a new system of "fit-notes" (on the Directgov website) will be introduced, aimed at focusing on what the employee is able to do and enabling a return to work.
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