Why do GPs charge fees?

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge but there are exceptions such as NHS dental fees. The NHS does not provide medical reports for insurance companies, claims on private health insurance and other letters and forms which require the doctor to review the patient’s medical records.

GPs are not employed by the NHS. The NHS pays the doctor for specific NHS work but for non-NHS work the fee has to cover the doctor’s costs. As the doctors are self-employed, their costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting, printing, paper etc. – must be covered in the same way as any small business.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge patients:

• Private medical insurance reports
• HGV licences and DVLA forms
• Holiday cancellation forms
• Letters requested by, or on behalf, of a patient

Please also bear in mind that there is usually no obligation to have these forms or services completed by your own GP, a web search is likely to reveal other providers for these services to allow you to compare the market.

Does my GP Practice need to do this private work for me?

In short, probably not. The following list of private services are available from organisations specialising in these activities. In most cases, you can get the work done for a lower fee than we charge; this is because external providers are doing this as their day job, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, whereas for us it is a secondary activity done as overtime. We are not allowed to recommend any one particular provider, but a quick Google should render results in Glasgow for the provision of:

• HGV/PSV/Pre-employment Medicals
• Firearms applications
• Camp America forms
• Adoption Medicals
• Legal/Solicitor/Insurance Reports

My form is for a charity event – can you waive the fee?

We are asked to fill in many forms for charity or fundraising events. The practice does not favour one charity or event over another so the fee cannot be waived.

How long should I allow for the work to be done?

Please allow up to 28 days for the work to be completed. The practice has a substantial volume of non-NHS work to complete weekly and it is all done in addition to the NHS work and hours. An additional charge may be levied for more urgent requests.

I only need the doctor’s signature – why do I have to wait?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, they have to take time to review the patient’s records first. Some forms, such as an initial gun licence, require the GP to review the medical records from birth to present day. Each doctor must also pay a three to four figure sum for indemnity each year, a significant proportion of which is solely to cover the completion of these non-NHS documents. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council or even the Police.

Power of Attorney/Mental Capacity Assessment

GPs are often asked to make Mental Capacity Assessments for patients. These assessments can be requested for a variety of different reasons. As GPs it is an essential part of our role that we are able to perform capacity assessments which relate to decisions regarding medical investigations, treatment and care. However capacity assessments relating to overall welfare, finances and property are often more complex and sit outside our expertise.

The level of risk and responsibility linked to capacity assessments can be extremely high. Decisions such as whether someone’s house is sold or how their life savings are spent can depend on capacity assessments. It is therefore essential that adequate time and attention is dedicated to these assessments. It is also essential that those carrying out these assessments for legal purposes are highly trained and experienced in this area.

Legal capacity assessments do not fall within the NHS duties of GPs. Some GPs elsewhere do agree to perform these assessments privately at a fee, but many others feel the risks of doing so are too high or that the time needed to perform an adequate assessment is not available to them. There are other professionals who can perform mental capacity assessments including solicitors and psychiatrists.

As a surgery we do not feel we have the capacity to offer Mental Capacity Assessments for legal purposes for our patients. To do so would require significant resources being diverted from our core duties as a health care provider.  It would also pose a significant legal and financial risk to our GPs. We feel there are other professionals available with more appropriate training, legal protection and expertise who can perform these assessments.

We realise that this practice policy may cause some inconvenience to our patients but hope you can understand that our priority must be to our core NHS duties as a health care provider. If, in the future, the funding crisis in General Practice is adequately addressed by government we may find ourselves able to reconsider our position.

You can click on the bold text to read more about the Power of Attorney framework.

How much will I be charged for private services?

• 1. All requests for private work need to be  submitted via our web form below
• If you are requesting completion of a form, please supply the form and all other relevant paperwork/information by attaching to the request form.
• 2. Your request is received and processed by our private administration team. The request is documented and passed to the relevant GP.
• 3. The GP sets, alters, or confirms the fee payable for completion of the work. We will contact you by email to confirm this. If you are required to pay prior to completion of the work, you will be notified of this.
• 4. Once the fee has been confirmed with you, the private work will be completed by the GP in the agreed timeframe.
• 5. Once completed, the GP returns the paperwork to the private admin team. The team file a copy to your medical records, complete any further action necessary, and notify you that the paperwork is ready, and of any fees to be settled.

How can I help?

• Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge. Read the information that comes with these types of forms carefully before requesting your GP to complete them.
• Ensure you have enclosed all relevant paperwork and information with your request, and completed in full any parts of the form you are required to complete as the patient. Missing information may mean the GP is unable to complete the request and this may lengthen the process.
• Please be patient with us. With certain limited exceptions, such as confirmation a patient is unfit to attend jury service, GPs do not have to carry out private (non-NHS) work on behalf of their patients. Whilst our GPs will always attempt to assist with this where possible, as NHS providers, we have to prioritise NHS care. This means in order for private work to be completed without impacting our NHS service, our GPs complete these requests in their own time. You are welcome to call our private admin team for an update on your request and we will do our best to advise you.