Cost of GP letter

Ref my earlier post saying that the Dr. took 6 weeks to fill in the claim form (not complaining, just saying) Saga have taken just 4 days to accept my claim and have paid the money into our account, so, well done Saga.

We did mumofmadboys but we couldn’t wait the time they needed for it to be corrected . Needless to say there was no refund .

That is awful,Gillybob! I think you should have pointed that out to the Practice Manager at the time.

Pesky phone!

GPs are not allowed!!

When my eldest granddaughter was refused a place in the secondary school almost across the road from where she lives, we went to appeal and asked the GP to back up my statement of vulnerability. They were happy to do so for a fee of £50 and a wait of 3 weeks. In the end we were very reluctant to produce it at the hearing as there were about 10 very careless mistakes !

Including the spelling of her name, her address , the name of the school (almost right but not quite) and various other things.

There are certain forms GPS are most allowed to charge for. The one claiming Council Tax relief on the basis of severe mental impairment is one.

I'm always disappointed at airports because it's always the rather butch female attendant who examines the scars on my knees and not the attractive male ones.

Wave not save!

Well, having brought my letter with me ( to explain there is a plate in my thigh if the alarms go off at security gates) I haven't needed it once.
When there's a beep, they see my walking stick, smile and save me through!

That was a really useful post Doodle thank you - to be honest when you submit a form for anything everyone seems to think theirs is the only one!!! I completely understand.

Also Floradora that's useful info - diabetes is about the only thing not hitting DH and I at the moment!

My original post wasn't meant to criticise or complain in any way - it was more an observation as my surgery and DH surgery differed so much not only in cost but waiting time as well.

Reading all the replies I feel my GP, who signed it 'while I waited' so that I just paid on the way out in reception was the exception rather that the rule!

I would certainly never ever complain about GPs workload etc.

If you are diabetic the GP will charge for a letter regarding carrying needles etc. but the diabetic nurse does not charge . Worth bearing in mind if you need this .

At the surgery I worked for we used to say it would take 2 weeks minimum for processing forms. Claims for insurance re holiday cancellation are but a small part of the doctors administrative workload. On average at my surgery (albeit a big one) we had in excess of 300 forms a week to be completed. All patients recrods need to be checked etc. Whilst your form was straight forward, it was probably processed in strictly date order i.e. Not taking priority over adoption forms, mortgage insurance, fitness, DVLA, etc etc. These things take time and cost because they are not part of free NHS services.

Pales into insignificance compared with the cost of getting one to certify a death.

I paid £30.00 this year, which I didn’t mind, and I waited 6 weeks for the claim form to be returned ( I enclosed a stamped addressed envelope) .

Please, please, please don't think I am complaining as I do appreciate all that GPs do and all that the respondents have said!
I was simply asking if this was a general wait/cost as it did seem so different from the experience I had last year compared to DH's this year.
I fully understand we have to pay honestly!

Until recently my local surgery charged £35 for a supporting letter when people were applying for certain benefits. When it was explained to the practice manager that this was almost 50% of one particular claimant's income compassion won and the charges were repaid. The surgery now is much more flexible about seeking payment for letters of this kind.
In the same way as we would pay any other professional for their time then I'm afraid such charges do need to be applied to the rest of us.

Given the news this week that many GP surgeries are at least one doctor down on their staff numbers, it's not surprising that private work comes at the bottom of the list.

It's not an urgent request so I think the wait and charge are reasonable.

The answer to your last question is yes but it's not entirely random. This BBC report is five years old but provides some background on charging for letters.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-your-money-23693468

"Dr Holden said it is widely accepted that a GP needs to earn a gross pay of "over £200 an hour" to keep a surgery open, and that writing even a short letter is not as straightforward as it may appear.

What people forget is even for a one-liner the General Medical Council requires we verify that what we say and sign is true. That means a trawl through the notes to confirm that it's true.

That takes time. The production of a one-liner can easily take 20 minutes."

With that knowledge, £50 sound very reasonable. The time it took is irrelevant. An insurance matter would not and should not have taken priority over the daily running of the surgery where the care of sick patients is the priority. 10-28 days will depend on how busy the practice is.

I needed a gp letter for travel. 2 days and £25.
Seemed fair enough

It’s not part of their NHS contract so it’s up to them what they charge - why not? Compared with the money you are getting back, it’s well worth it . But sorry you are losing our on your holiday again - hope you can go later and that your DH is all right.

Sounds like a reasonable charge to me.

No my current GP has written me letters for all sorts of reasons, some have been done then and there and others have taken the maximum of a week. All have been foc. Previous doctors have taken anything upto a couple of weeks and charged whatever they felt like. My current GP is an absolute star.