GUIDE TO NON-NHS FEES – 2022

GENERAL PRIVATE WORK:	
Appointment (per 10minutes)	£35	
Blood Test	£30	
Countersignature – e.g. Driving licence/Passport	£30	
Character reference 	£60	
Fitness confirmation (eg Education, To exercise/travel)	£40	
Form requiring brief Record review	£35	
Holiday Cancellation Forms	£40	
Letter – “To whom it may concern” 
	£15 to £55 (subject to length and complexity)	
Power of Attorney	£125	
Prescription	£35	
Medical Claim form - BUPA/PPP/Wesleyan etc	£40	
Shot Gun Certificate	£55	
Sick Note – Simple/Complex	£30/£40	
Straightforward statement of fact/stamp	£20	
		
Medical Certificates	
Simple/Short Certificate	£25	Complex/Long Certificate	£50	
Freedom from infection	£35	Vaccination Certificate	£35	
				
Medical Reports	
Medical Examination & Report:
Pre-employment /Working abroad/Accident/Sickness	£130	
Medical report written – no examination	£80	
Medical report – proforma – no examination	£55	

SPECIFIC PRIVATE WORK: 	
Adoption / Fostering / Childcare Forms	
Full Adoption/Foster Medical	£80	Interim Medicals	£25	
Childminder Medical Report	£40	Ofsted Health Declaration	£60	
		
Criminal Injury (CICA) Claim	
CICA Form	£50	Proforma Report	£41.40	
DNA / Paternity	
DNA/Paternity test processing	£50 – patient to provide testing kit	
Driving / DVLA	
HGV/LGV/PSV/Taxi/Elderly Drivers	 £130	Visual Fields Test	£45.50	
VOC GP Certificate	£12.50	Seat belt exemption report	£75	
Road Traffic Accident – as per RTA 1988	£21.30	
Insurance	
Insurance Claim form Short/Proforma 	£40	
Insurance Claim form Long/complex	£70	

THE BRIMINGTON SURGERY
Fees for Non-NHS Charges - Frequently Asked Questions:

Not all services performed by our clinicians are covered by the NHS. When patients require non-NHS services a Private Fee will be payable. In general, fees must be paid in full before any private work is carried out. 

Surely GPs are already being paid so why are fees charged?
GPs are not employed by the NHS, they are self-employed and have to cover their costs (staff, buildings, heating, lighting etc.) in the same way as any other small business.

In recent years more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a wide range of non-NHS work. This work is not funded by the NHS, so GPs have to charge a fee to cover their time and related expenses.

So, do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?
With certain limited exceptions, your Doctor does not have to carry out non-NHS work however, GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my letter/form?
Time spent doing this takes GPs away from the medical care of their patients. Our GPs have a heavy workload and duties relating to direct patient care will always be prioritised over extra private work.

I only need a signature, why is there an issue?
A doctor can only sign what they know to be true, so in order to complete even the simplest of forms, the doctor might have to read a patient's entire medical record.

What will I be charged?
The British Medical Association (BMA – the professional association for doctors) provides a list of suggested fees for guidance purposes.  All GP Practices will have different costs and overheads to consider. Doctors are not obliged to charge these suggested rates, and the cost of each service will generally reflect the amount of work and time involved.

How long does the surgery need for the completion of reports, forms and letters?
We ask for 4 weeks’ notice although we do try and complete them sooner. Where a patient has an urgent request, this should always be explained to the receptionist who will note the urgency. It may not always be possible to process a request faster since any clinically urgent work will always take precedent.

Why is there sometimes a charge after a road traffic accident?
Under the Road Traffic Act (1988), the first doctor providing emergency treatment to the victim of a road traffic accident is entitled to charge a fee. A fee may be levied for each person treated [as per Section 158(2) of the Road Traffic Act (1988)].

What can I do to help my GP?
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 these documents free of charge.
If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP if they are prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.
Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight. Urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this may cost more.

Road Traffic Accident Fees

NHS funding does not cover the emergency treatment of road traffic accident (RTA) victims.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, the first doctor to provide emergency treatment to the victim of a road traffic accident is generally entitled to charge a fee in respect of each person treated.

This fee is within primary legislation and can only be changed by Act of Parliament

The surgery will therefore charge £21.30 for each patient consulted under this act.

The ability to levy a fee under S158 of the Road Traffic Act has been limited to claims by doctors not working in NHS hospitals, as the cost of hospital treatment is recovered from insurers directly by the NHS.

The fee can be levied even if the person driving the vehicle at the time of the accident is on the GP's NHS list.

Patients are advised that this fee is payable at the time of the consultation and you may be able reclaim the fee from either your own or the driver at fault’s insurance company. This is their legal right that is laid down in statute. 

The BMA advises that, since there may be a delay before injuries become apparent, anyone seen within one working day can be deemed an emergency. 

If a patient wishes to see a GP for the purposes of record injuries for future medico-legal, this is not covered by the Road Traffic Act does not fall under NHS General Medical Services and the GP may charge their own rate for this work.

The practice currently charges £85 for a private patient consultation regarding such an accident.