For Immediate Release
November 5, 2024
NL NDP Leader Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre) is calling for government to ban short-term sick notes for workers, citing multiple pressures faced by the province’s health care system, especially the challenges time-strapped doctors must deal with.
Concurring with a recent call from the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA), Dinn says banning short-term sick notes would eliminate extra work for health care providers, open more appointments for patients who actually need to see a doctor, and save workers the cost of paying doctors to provide the notes, which are not covered by MCP.
“When employers require sick notes for short-term illness, they create more work for health care providers and also add stress on unwell workers,” said Dinn. “This policy would apply to minor illnesses like colds, flu, or gastrointestinal ailments that do not otherwise require a medical office visit. Sick workers should focus on healing, not risking their own health and that of others by providing proof of illness.”
Dinn says that while this government continues to announce new buildings, the NDP are focused on solutions that will not only lift a burden on workers and doctors, but that will also cost nothing to the province.
“This is an example of a solution that could help our health care system right now, not years down the road. It wouldn’t cost any money to implement and would cut out the need for sick individuals to spend their day out in the community figuring out how to get a note,” he said. “Appointments should be for those needing care, not sick workers who should be at home taking care of themselves.
“With our health care system in crisis mode, this is one lever the government could pull that would make a real impact on both workers and health care providers.”
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For further information, contact Stephanie Curran, Media and Communications Officer, NDP Caucus at 330-0328 (o), or stephaniecurran@gov.nl.ca
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