Manitobans want end to sick notes: Poll

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2025 (188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Between running a clinic, working in the emergency room, delivering babies and tending to her regular patients, Dr. Nichelle Desilets has little time to write sick notes.

Desilets, who runs a family practice at the Beautiful Plains Community Medical Clinic in Neepawa, estimates she and her colleagues write between five and 10 sick notes per week; time which could be better used treating patients.

“In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, ‘What about those moms that were calling about their sick kids and I couldn’t get them in today,’” she said. “If I wasn’t writing sick notes for people, maybe I could have seen some more sick kids.”

There are more than 600,000 sick notes written annually in Manitoba, which accounts for 36,000 hours of physician time, a Doctors Manitoba report released Thursday says.

Desilets is among the majority of Manitobans who support the elimination or limiting of sick notes to verify illness, a recent poll from the physician group said.

“I’ve been in practice for about 10 years, and right from Day 1, I remember going to my clinic staff and saying, ‘What is up with all of these sick notes and all of these forms?’ The proportion was, I found, really surprising,” Desilets said.

The survey polling 1,591 people showed 96 per cent of respondents support doing away with or reducing the need for the notes. That includes 87 per cent who favour eliminating sick notes completely for short-term illness verification.

Hours used writing sick notes could be better used to staff up the province’s health-care system, which has the biggest shortage of family doctors in the country, Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Randy Guzman said during a news conference Thursday.

Doing away with sick notes to verify illness could free up time for an extra 300,000 patient visits and 50 doctors available for care, Guzman said.

“It’s vital that we all work together to free as much of their time as possible for patient care,” he said.

The report noted earlier research found that sick notes aren’t very effective for verifying illness. More than one-third of patients no longer have symptoms to verify when they see their doctor for a note.

The research shows more than 70 per cent of workers would go to work sick instead of getting a note excusing their absence.

All provinces, except Manitoba and Alberta, have taken action to limit sick notes.

Provinces that have eliminated sick notes ask for other verification to excuse an absence, like parking receipts for a doctor’s office, appointment reminders and prescriptions.

Some employers simply trust workers to be truthful.

“The idea is that short-term sick time from work is essentially a management and HR function, not a medical function,” Doctors Manitoba spokesperson Keir Johnson said.

The survey shows 84 per cent of employers support eliminating sick notes.

In January, the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority changed its policy on sick notes. Managers do not require notes from staff out sick up to two weeks. After that, the employee meets with HR to determine whether a medical note is warranted.

“I had learned last year just about the significance of the burden that sick notes place on the health system. And because we work in the health system, we see the burden, we understand the burden, and so I feel like we should be leading and reducing the burden,” said Julene Sawatzky, executive lead of human resources at the IERHA.

The health authority has seen a “dramatic” drop-off in employees producing sick notes, Sawatzky said.

She hopes other industries will follow suit, but legislation remains a barrier.

Current provincial legislation dictates it is up to employers to request sick notes from employees for a short-term leave due to illness.

“You could call it the Wild West right now. There really aren’t rules in Manitoba,” Johnson said.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara deferred any legislation changes to Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino, but said the province will continue dialogue with Doctors Manitoba to address the issue.

Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook called the need for doctor’s notes an unnecessary and expensive way to utilize physician’s time.

“They are highly specialized and we should be freeing them up to do what they do best,” she said.

Last year, a joint task force to reduce administrative burden for physicians recommended the elimination of physician sick notes in a report submitted to Manitoba’s health minister and Doctors Manitoba.

The recommendations state employers should find other ways to manage employees’ short-term absences. In cases where doctors need to submit paperwork, the frequency of the forms should be determined by the doctor, not the employer, the task force decided.

The Canadian Medical Association called for the elimination of sick notes across the nation as well.

Last month, a workshop was held to identify how to transition away from sick notes, including input from employer, labour and government leaders, as well as experts in human resources, occupational medicine and law.

A final recommendation will follow shortly, along with a toolkit to support employers and other stakeholders with the transition away from sick notes for short-term absence verification, Johnson said.

» Winnipeg Free Press