Non-NHS Services
Private Fees for Services outside the NHS Contract
The National Health Service provides most healthcare to the majority of people free of charge, but there are exceptions. GPs are self-employed and are contracted to provide NHS general medical services for their patients.
Sometimes, GPs are asked to provide additional services which fall outside their contract and in these circumstances, they are entitled to make a reasonable charge for providing them.
The practice offers a number of non-NHS services to patients, including:
- Private medicals
- Completion of various forms and reports
- Private letters
As these are all non-NHS services, a fee is charged for their completion – Please note prepayment is required for this service.
To request a letter or a form signed by the GP, we ask for the request to be in writing, where possible, and we require payment upfront. Please be advised, it can take 4-6 weeks to complete the work.
We also offer private medicals which may be needed, for example, HGV medicals, taxi medicals and ENG1 & ML5 shipping medicals. Please contact the Practice for further details.
Please see below for for a current list of our Non-NHS Fees.
Below are a collection of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding non-NHS work fees.
Why is there a fee?
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 must cover the doctor’s costs.
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, and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time. They also receive a high volume of private letter and form requests, of varying complexity. You should expect the form(s) to take 4-6 weeks for the GP to complete and return.
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, 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.
For more information on why doctors charge fees, please see the BMA website for guidance.
