Kalin, I understand where you are coming from. You would be better off reporting to work so that the HR department could see that you are sick, rather than finding a doctor who will make an assessment based on the same thing - do you look sick. PALE, in my town to get a doctors appointment, you have to line up outside the surgery at 7.30am - the doors open at 8 and the first x number of people through to door get an appointment. It is not in anyone's interests to have a person with the cold/flu (which no medication can be given ofr) lining up in sub-zero conditions on a winters morning. It will only serve to extend the life of the illness, and thereby cost the employer more in lost time.

Yes, I agree PALE, that you have to be very sick not to be ABLE to work. But bear in mind that even a light illness can greatly reduce your productive capacity. Therefore a number of small business employers have been able to reach the logical conclusion that it is better to lose a whole day of production for one person (who COULD work if push came to shove), than lose 20% capacity of the other 10 workers, assuming that the illness is infectious. Where I work a sick person with impaired judgement can lose the business a lot more than 1 days production. Eg I produce around $1500/day value. In a tiny 5 mins, I could make a mistake that would cost the business 100 times that. Thus, better that I take a day to recover fully, than to take a risk

PALE, why would I resent old people due to my grandmothers illness? You a quite a strange person! To the contrary, I know that she was best looked after at home, then next best in a high care nursing home. Her few trips to hospital nearly killed her. Yes, IC units should not be just for the young. And neither should hospital care IF ITS NEEDED. Having older people in hospitals when they dont require hospitalisation is putting additional strain on facilities that are already stretched to breaking point.

Perhaps you should advertise to retirees not to come to QLD to retire, as the medical facilities arent there. By your own definition they are newcomers that are eating up facilities for the locals.

Thanks for the even handed comments Country Gal. PALE really annoyed me with that last post of his/hers, so patronising.

Faked sickies may cost businesses lots of money. So does shop lifting or employee theft. Does anyone think it would be reasonable if every single customer was interrogated by the police to confirm they weren't a shop lifter? Should all employees be routinely grilled by the police to confirm they aren't stealing from their bosses?

Of course not. So why is it ok to put doctors in the role of police officers and make them interrogate EVERY SINGLE SICK PERSON just to confirm they aren't faking it? By all means do so once some suspicion is aroused, but to do it routinely EVERY time someone is sick is a dumb waste of resources.

PALE,

You said: "However I suspect it really gets up your nose having to produce a certificate because - in your own words wondering around half the day looking for a Dr and paying for a visit wasnt what you had in mind."

You are either suggesting I shouldn't be allowed to stay in bed when I'm sick (improbable), or are implying I wasn't sick and was just hoping to have a more 'fun' day than spending it looking for a medical certificate? Can you explain why you reached that conclusion?

"If you put it that way - Then it would seem the system is working well and producing the results it was intended to."

So I take it you support a system that stops genuinely sick employees from resting in bed when they're sick, just to stop a small % of fakers from having a 'fun' day off undeserved.

I assume you'd similarly support a system which stops sick elderly people from seeing the doctor just to stop those lonely elderly people, who "fake it" just to have someone to talk to? Don't believe that goes on? Ask your GP next time and see what he says.