Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges.
Please click on Fees for Non-NHS Services (PDF, 76KB)
Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their NHS patients are:
- Accident/sickness insurance certificates
- Certain travel vaccinations
- Private medical insurance reports
- Private fit notes
- Letters requested by, or on behalf of, the patient
- Holiday cancellation claim forms
- Medical reports for an insurance company/solicitors
- Some reports for the Department for Work & Pensions
Those fees are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.
Why do GP's sometimes charge fees?
Isn't the NHS supposed to be free?
The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions: prescription charges have existed since 1951, and there are a number of other services for which fees are charged. For example medical reports for insurance companies.
Surely the doctor is being paid anyway?
It is important to understand that GPs are not employed by the NHS, they are self-employed and they have to cover their costs - staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc – in the same way as any small business. The NHS covers these costs for NHS work, but for non-NHS work, the fee has to cover the doctor's costs.
What is covered by the NHS and what is not?
The Government's contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients. In recent years, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work. Sometimes the only reason that GP's are asked is that they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to be sure that information provided is true and accurate.
Is it true that the BMA sets fees for non-NHS work?
The BMA suggests fees for non-NHS work which is not covered under a GP’s NHS contract, to help GPs set their own professional fees. However, these fees are guidelines only, not recommendations, and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates suggested.
Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?
Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload - the majority work up to 70 hours a week - and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find they have to take some paperwork home at night and weekends.
I only need the doctor's signature - what is the problem?
When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the doctor might have to check the patient's entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council or even the Police.