Non NHS Services

Leighton Road Surgery will make a charge for certain services that are not available under the NHS.

Please note that reports and forms, where accepted, may take up to three months for completion by the surgery. Payment is required by the practice prior to forms being completed.

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions, prescription charges for example. Some services are not covered by the NHS, for example, medical reports for insurance companies.

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 GPs are asked is because 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.

Many of these non-NHS services create an additional workload burden for GPs. Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes GPs away from the medical care of their patients. The Practice will therefore only accept a limited range of work and will signpost patients to other providers, or offer an alternative, such as an extract from medical records to use instead of a letter or form.

Reports and forms requiring information in a specified format and medical opinion, for example, medicals for driving professionals, occupational health reports and “Fit to…” requests will be directed to other providers, which will have the specialist expertise and capacity to undertake such work.
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.
  • validation of private medical insurance, accident or sickness claim form
  • to support a claim for benefit in connection with private medical insurance
  • completion of a pre-treatment form
  • medical reports for an insurance company
  • some reports for the Department of Work and Pensions
  • medical reports for the DVLA
  • ‘Special Rules’ Form SR1 (Disability Living/Attendance Allowance) – previously ‘DS 1500’
  • Safeguarding reports or attending case conferences arranged by local authorities

Alternatives

Not all documents need 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.

Requests for letters from the GP in support of activities or housing may be signposted to other services, such as social prescribers, Citizens Advice or Age UK.

The NHS App

The Practice recommends that patients who need to access information in their medical record sign up for the NHS App, which is available on mobile devices or as an Internet page.