Why does my GP charge a fee for medical reports and letters?

Guildhall Surgery has a primary duty to provide services for the management of patients who are ill. Writing letters and providing reports (i.e. for insurance providers, adoption and fostering, driving (DVLA), housing and benefit appeals, schools, health clubs and employers) all falls outside of the NHS GP contract. When medical reports are provided they are a private service and as such, have to be completed in the GP’s own time, often with the assistance of their support staff, outside of their paid NHS working hours. These services incur a fee.

Why does it sometimes take my GP some time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP, and their support staff, 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, so many GPs find they are already doing extra NHS paperwork on their days off, in the evenings or at weekends. The time taken to complete a form will depend on their NHS workload and how many reports or letters have been requested by other patients at that time.

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 (the doctors' regulatory body) or even the Police

What fee should I expect to pay?

We have provided here details of our fees. Whenever we receive a request for a letter or report the doctor will review the request to work out how long they need to complete the report and therefore what fee to charge.

Unfortunately from time to time patients have asked for a report and then refused to pay once it has been completed by the doctor. This means we now usually ask patients to pay for the report before the doctor completes any work.

We will always tell the patient what the fee will be before the report is completed, so they can decide whether they want to go ahead. 

Fees for Non-NHS services

* Guildhall Surgery can only charge for providing medical records if the work involved is deemed unreasonable or the patient has previously been provided with their medical records free of charge.

When we produce medical records, whether chargeable or not, we do so using a computerised system which provides the records via. a secure pathway direct to the patients email address. We can, if requested by the patient, also send this report to their nominated agent e.g. an insurance company, solicitor etc.

For further information on the provision of medical records please contact the Medical Secretaries.

These fees are effect 1 September 2022 and may be changed at any time without prior notice.