What does "place oneself under the doctor" mean?

I was reading an article about a struggling postman where it quotes his solicitor explaining some trouble the postman was having:

Mr Arthur ... told the court: "He was assigned a number of different walks. (delivery rounds). He struggled with those and he didn't complete the work. He didn't place himself under the doctor, he just didn't manage.

The phrase place himself under the doctor doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Is it suggesting that he could have taken sick leave? Or a doctor could have written a letter on his behalf to explain the difficulties? Is the meaning anything to do with a medical doctor?

The phrase simply means placed himself in his doctor's care and does specifically refer to medical doctors, and particularly the General Practitioner who provides care as part of the National Health Service in Britain.

He didn't place himself under the doctor, he just didn't manage means "He didn't seek advice or medical treatment; he soldiered on and didn't cope."

I'm not qualified to say what the solicitor was actually driving at.

Maybe this is a Britishism. In America we would say "placed himself under the doctor's care", i.e. went to a doctor and followed the doctor's instructions. I've never heard it as just "placed himself under the doctor" -- unless he and the doctor have a romantic relationship.