Non NHS Private Fees

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions where a service isn't covered by the NHS, for example, 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.

The government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients. In recent years more organisations have been involving doctors in a range of non-medical work. Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked to complete a form 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.

• Certain travel vaccinations
• Private medical insurance reports
• Holiday cancellation forms
• Referral for private care forms
• Letters requested by or on behalf of, the patient
• In certain instances, fitness to work forms

• Medical reports for an insurance company
• Some reports for the DSS/Benefits agency
• Examinations of local authority employees

• The time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes GPs away from providing medical care to patients and contributes for the heavy workload in Primary care. The Caversham will always prioritise the care of patients. As a result, non-NHS work may take longer to complete. Some reports and correspondence may also be complex and require information to be gathered from several different sources. Other reports may require a medical examination. These factors influence the time taken to complete reports.
• Time spent completing forms and preparing non – NHS reports must be undertaken outside of NHS contracted time. GPs must prioritise all NHS workload and administration before completing non-NHS work.
• With certain limited exceptions, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients. Whilst the practice will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, they are not required to do this type of work. If the practice agrees to undertake the work, we have 40 days from receipt of your request to provide the information.
• The practice may not start work on your request until you have confirmed that you are happy to pay any relevant fees.

For all the reasons above but also because 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. Therefore, to complete even the simplest of forms, the doctor needs to check the patient's entire record.