Request a certificate
If you are off from work for less than 7 days you should fill out a "self certificate" form, your employer will have these. You do not need a certificate from the doctor. If your company insists on a certificate from your GP, you will be charged for this. (see charges).
If you are away from work for 7 days or more you will need a doctor's certificate. Generally your doctor will need to see you in order to do this. If you have been in hospital, the hospital doctor should have given you all the certificates you need. If they have not, your GP will need at least a letter from the hospital before he/she can issue a certificate without seeing you. Before you return to work, you should have a certificate with a 'return to work' date on it.
Get a test result
If your doctor has requested tests (blood, urine, skin etc) the results will be sent back to the practice . We usually suggest that patients wait for 10 working days before calling for results, to ensure all details are back (some tests take longer than others). All results are reviewed by your own doctor (or another partner if they are away from the practice) and any comments about them passed to the results team. You should ring for results later in the day (between 10am and 4pm please) and the results team will pass on the doctor's message. The results team will not be able to explain the significance of results - you will need to speak to the doctor or nurse who requested the tests originally if you require any additional informationResults of tests performed in hospital are sent to the hospital doctors who requested them. They are unlikely to be sent to the practice unless specifically requested.