To think GPs shouldn’t charge for these letters?

Do you think people should work for free? You are asking them to do some work for you much like you would a window cleaner or a gardener etc.

If someone does work for you then you must pay them. It isn't really difficult to understand.

@Lostare Haven’t RTFT but I get biologic injections for IBD too. Delivered from an external company. Have to be kept refrigerated. I’ve never had an issues when travelling and never provided a doctors letter. I just keep them in a cool bag thing with an ice pack in hand luggage. Though I do get the fear every time I fly that I’ll be asked to produce something and won’t have it. A few times I’ve taken injection early to fit in with travel plans. As it’s a right pain trying to keep them cool. Hope you get sorted. It’s a rotten disease.

Unfortunately, as you're requesting something that is not available on the NHS you're being charged fees as a private patient. It might seem steep to charge £55 for a letter, but it's probably quite reasonable compared with the charges of other professionals, e.g. solicitors, accountants.

Which they may or may not charge for, or may or may not be willing to provide since every practice makes up its own rules for non contracted services.

The point is, in 2025 there is no excuse for this kind of facility not being available via Self Service which would require no time or effort from anyone in the practice. Letters verifying details of treatment or prescriptions are not an uncommon requirement which should require bespoke work from anyone at the practice.

It's the drs time that isn't paid for by the nhs work. They'd have to login open the records, confirm the dose and medication, dictaphone a letter, the secretary types it and sends it back to the gp to confirm its correct then print it out. I get that people think drs are overpaid but a few pounds? Do you think a lawyer or a solicitor would accept a few pounds for such a task?

Fellow Crohn’s sufferer, contact your IBD team at the your hospital. They will write the letter for free. Although as long as it’s packaged with your name and address on you shouldn’t need further proof.

In addition to the above, I would be getting the hospital to get it added to you NHS profile, as quite worrying it doesn’t show.

Paying for a letter doesn't bother me. What bothered me when I needed a form completed for my daughter, 20 years ago, when she smashed her leg and a holiday had to be cancelled was the fact that I was told to collect it at 2pm. It wasn't ready. I'd got my dd from house to car when she needed a wheelchair and then from car to surgery. The letter wasn't ready at 2pm and I was told to come back at 3.30pm. I asked them to post it and was told the surgery couldn't run to stamps. They cheque for the form was made out personally to the GP. £35, the equivalent of £140ph. I left and wrote them a stinker enclosing a first class stamp. The practice manager phoned me and bleated about lack of funding. It did not go well when I suggested the GP could have exchanged provided a stamp out of their equivalent £140ph fee!

@Lostare I travel with exactly the same type of medicine, pre-filled injectable pens in a cooler with separate 8mm needles, and I just make sure I take the original box and a letter from hospital/consultant that mentions the condition/treatment. The letter you've mentioned from hospital to the GP will be fine, just take that in a plastic wallet.

Never had any issues at security or anything, I've never even had the prescription box or letter looked at. You don't need to get a GP letter.

Thats clearly a problem, but it should be solved by making the passport office not be so stupid.

There should be exemptions, though. I have a relative with DS and learning disability, whose parents were told by HM passport office he needed a letter from his GP proving his disabilities prevented him from attending the interview when they applied for his 1st adult passport. £55 is a huge amount to a disabled person on state benefits. They wouldn't accept a letter from his social worker, care manager, consultant, or day centre manager - it had to be the GP!

Depending on how soon you're going away, might also be a bad idea given that they don't have to provide it immediately. One calendar month to respond.

GPs can print out an encounter report for you which will list all your medications. And all your health issues. This is free.

The surgery can just print off a summary sheet. The OP has requested a bespoke letter (I’m not judging for that, btw, just stating a fact).

The thing is you don’t need the letter. The NHS GP service cannot write letters for every patient who has to take prescribed medicine, from whatever source, on a flight or holiday. Any requirement by an airline is something they have created for no good reason unless the medicine is controlled or banned. Even then it is an issue for customs and law enforcement not the airline.

There should be a dispensing label on the medicine. It will have the details of the prescription. Which are basically your details, the prescribers details (can be a code or name) and the medicine. That is just as comprehensive as anything in the letter you want.

The government doesn’t pay GPs to write these letters simply because there is no need for them. Whatever is going on with the airline’s requirements is a problem they have created. If the dispensary aren’t providing the dispensing label that is their problem.

I’ve already said to you just ask for a summary sheet that the receptionist can print off. If your medication is through the NHS it will be on there. No letter needed.

If its busy manually producing form letters then its because of a failure of the NHS to modernise. Any large organisation and many SMEs have all this stuff automated and in an organisation with the procurement power of the NHS there is no excuse for wasting time and money on antiquated processes.

I don't think they are ignoring it or not agreeing. I think they just didn't know (and haven't bothered to read the OP's updates).

@Lostare I am following with interest as DD has just been diagnosed with IBD, not confirmed as crohns yet, but suspected (3 month wait between colonoscopy and appointment with the consultant 😒), and if she needs medication that doesn't show as an NHS prescription I will remind her to get a GP letter in case she needs it.

To me it's a no brainer. I would rather have less money for my visit than risk a flare up. Good luck, and have a lovely holiday.

My G.P told me the fee goes to pay the admin staff for their time typing it up and sorting it out.
The NHS is busy enough without sorting out the holiday/work/insurance/DWP/passport requests they get, they need to charge for it.

I agree.

Although apparently we now have to pay for self-service too! Not in the NHS but I was looking at my car insurance renewal the other day and it said that if you make any changes (during the term) using the self service option online, there's a charge of £19. What a rip-off. If you phone and ask them to do it, there's some justification but if you do it yourself?

So I imagine that if you printed it off the NHS app they'd find a way to charge you too.

No one is forcing you to go on holidays so why should the gp (who has literally nothing to do with this medication write you a letter for free?

Honestly OP get over yourself, you have a medical condition and so do lots of people. You get an expensive medication, consultant treatment, blood tests etc for free and you're moaning about a letter so you can go on holidays

Presumably this is something like infliximab. It should be listed on all your letters from the treating department.

I would contact the nurse helpline and ask for a letter. It’s a very common request, particularly at this time of year.

My GP tried to charge my Ausitic Ds (19) £90 for a letter confirming he was ill to his College (who required GP only letter). He was in Heart Failure at the time.

I typed up a basic 'to whom it may concern, siliconcover's Ds was in hospital on high needs ward with LVSD Heart Failure dates x to y. He now needs time to recover'. I took it to Reception at HN ward and asked if anyone would sign it for him without charging him £90. They kindly did. GP is awful in many other ways.

Good luck with your meds.

That's exactly what OP is asking actually because the gp is only contracted and therefore paid for doing certain things, writing letters for peoples holidays is not one of those things so therefore it does come out of the gps time.

Jeeze who rattled your cage? The OP is not expecting the doctor to do it in their own time!