To think GPs shouldn’t charge for these letters?

A GP's job is to help you manage your health, not to facilitate your holiday. The time spent writing that letter ould have been used to give another sick person the appointment they are waiting for. Of course you should pay. But do check if it's necessary. For most medicines and most countries, the label on the box showing it is prescribed to you, and a copy of the prescription (screengrab of the relevant screen in the NHS app if you are paperless) is all you need. If the medicine is an illegal drug in the country you are visiting that might require more.

We use Frío pouches for insulin.

You could ask for copies of hospital letters, which presumably state you use the drug.

For those saying that they just carry it with no problems, I think the difference is the need for an ice pack. I’ve had difficulty carrying injections with an ice pack before - some airports get twitchy as they are “frozen liquid”. (Whereas when travelling with injections that can be kept at room temperature I just put them in my liquids bag in hand luggage with no problem.)

OP, I got a letter from the specialist nurses in my hospital department. They have a standard “to whom it may concern” one that mentions the need for ice packs and they emailed it to me to print out. I’ve not had any problems when using the letter. Quite often staff at the security scanner want the medicines to go through separately from the rest of your things. I usually have more than one copy of the letter now because once I got held up for ages while they looked at the ice packs on the scanner and wanted the letter as well. I then got the medicines back but not the letter and didn’t realise this until I needed it again at security for a connecting flight!

Mine is Healthnet homecare too, they’ve been great for me.

Would you say that about a lawyer’s letter too? Or willingly pay £200. GPs are massively undervalued in this country. They are professionals and can charge for their free time like any other profession would.

Sounds like my RA medication which is delivered by a private contractor. Not on the NHS app and no prescription either!

Can you not just ask for a copy of your prescription? That should be free.

Sounds like my medication for RA which is outsourced to a private contractor

i have 2 different injectables supplied by 2 different private contractors and neither are on my NHS app

It’s not a “simple letter” though it takes time for them to get the records up find the right bit sort the letter etc etc. If they did them all for free they would have no time for actual GP work!

Can you imagine if every single person on prescription who was going on holiday asked for this. It would use up so much of their precious time. You don’t need a letter (as others have said) just take your prescription.

The charge is because it’s work outside of the NHS and probably to stop everyone asking just for the hell of it.

The original letter mentioning that you’ve moved to an injectable sounds completely fine.

It sounds like you need the letter so you will probably have to suck it up, unless you have a hospital letter stating why you need the medication. But yes that is quite expensive. DC2 recently had to pay for a GP letter and it was £40.

For mine, the pharmacy that delivers it gave me a letter for free.

Cross posted with your message about the IBD nurses. The pharmacy were really helpful, I didn’t even ask them for a letter, just asked if they sold the transport bag and they sent me the letter anyway.

This is not part of routine GP work. They are paid so little for what they are actually meant to do so ahould charge for any additional work. The amount is probably also to discourage such requests in the future

Former GP’s secretary here. £55 isn’t a whole lot for a GP’s time out of the kind of clinical day they work - you should see what the average GP shift looks like, it is absolutely nonstop and every decision is potentially risky. For this kind of thing, it is not their funded work and they have to check the records etc (or ask someone like me to do it) and it is their professional registration on the line if they sign something they haven’t checked out properly (or tbh even if they have). They have probably set this price as a disincentive, as there are plenty of other routes to document it, and I don’t think pen medication requires it - check with the airline - I’ve certainly flown with injection pens in hand luggage without an issue. So I think being outraged that it takes a professional some paid time to support your holiday is not reasonable I’m afraid.

Like others here, I take quite a lot of medications when we travel and don’t bother with medical letters. The only one I get a letter for it ADHD meds for my eldest as it is a class B drug and banned in some countries unless you have medical evidence of it being prescribed. I have carried diabetic injections and a bag of other meds and so long as they are in their labelled packaging in a clear bag in your hand luggage, no-one bats an eye lid.

I’ve never needed a letter for my injectable medication either.

I have the prescription on my app and I just make sure it’s in the box with pharmacy prescription sticker on it.

I also take this sort of meds and when I went away this summer the pharmacy sent me a letter to show at the airport, and the IBD team sent me one as well - do you have a contact for the IBD nurse at your hospital? Have a word with them instead of your GP. I agree that’s too pricey, btw. Both of mine were free. (And no one asked to see them, but that Heathrow they opened my cool bag and swabbed it for drugs! It really annoyed me as then it went warm much quicker than it should have).

The GPs don't even do the letters, their secretaries do them. I think there should be another system entirely if you are on medication. A free health passport instead of having to get letters all the time. It's so backward.

Are you with sciensus? I've had a letter from them previously and a free letter from Rheumy. I don't involve gp in anything to do with my biologics it's much more straightforward not to. Call your specialist nurse and leave a message asking for a letter.