The practice offers a number of services that are considered ‘Non-NHS work'. These services can be completed by general practice, but are not funded by the Government’s contract with NHS in General Practice.
Non-NHS work includes, but is not limited to:
Insurance forms, Medical assessments, GP letters, DVLA forms, Proof of address letters etc.
When patients request Non-NHS work to be completed, a private fee is payable in advance of the work being passed onto a clinician. This is in accordance with the British Medical Association (BMA).
There is a fee as the practice does not receive Government funds to pay Doctors for the extra work, which has to be completed outside of normal clinic hours.
Fees vary depending on what work needs to be carried out. Standard letters start at £15, while full medical assessments that include an in-person appointment can be £200. Once you have requested a payable service, we will come back to you with information on the fee before proceeding. The fees must be paid before any clinical or admin work begins. Fees can be paid by cash or card at the reception desk. Unfortunately, at this time we do not have the option for online payment.
Download a list of our current fees here.
Once the fee is paid we will make arrangements for the completion of the work. Depending on the type of work, this may or may not require an appointment. If an appointment is needed we will contact you.
Non-NHS work can take up to 4 weeks to be completed.
However, during particularly busy periods (i.e. during the pandemic or in the lead up to Christmas) work can take up to 6 weeks to be completed. This is because the work is deemed by the NHS as ‘non urgent’. NHS appointments have to take priority, therefore non-NHS work is only given to clinicians when they have capacity. On days or weeks when we have a lot of staff on leave, non-NHS work is unlikely to be given to clinicians. Warning patients that there can be up to a 4 week turnaround time gives us the flexibility to ensure our clinicians are not overworked.
We encourage patients to let us know what work they need completing as soon as possible and inform us when this work is due. For example, we know taxi license medicals have to be returned within 6 weeks.
Please note: There will not be a choice of who can fill your form in or write your letter. We will decide which Clinician is best suited depending on your notes.
We look at each request for Non-NHS work to be completed on an individual basis. There are some cases where we cannot complete the work. For example, we cannot make any comment on a patient's past illness if at the time of the illness we did not see, speak to or treat the patient.
As a practice we have decided to no longer sign any documents relating to passports or proof of identity. Likewise, we reserve the right to refuse to take on any work with a short deadline unless there are extenuating circumstances.
What work we can or can do also varies on what Clinicians we currently have working. For instance, Dr James Benton is the only GP who can sign fitness for driving forms. If Dr Benton is on leave or has ultimately left the practice, we would no longer be able to offer this service.
Whenever a clinician signs a completed form or writes a simple letter it is considered a legal document. Our clinicians will never sign something without reading it fully and ensuring the facts presented are true. This can involve cross referencing with a patient's paper records, talking to the patient over the phone or at an in-person appointment.
An inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the patient and for the Doctor who may become the subject of an investigation by the General Medical Council (the Doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police. Given this, even if you are just requesting a clinicians signature we request you respect and understand this will still take time. A copy is always taken for your primary care record.
If you are a new patient, we may not have your medical records immediately. Our clinicians must wait for these before completing any forms or reports. These can take up to 3-4 months.
If you would like some Non-NHS work to be completed, please visit this page and select 'Admin query' then 'Something else'. Please provide as much information as possible. We will then come back to you with a secure link for you to upload your paperwork to if needed.
