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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU, school letter

133 replies

Giddypants · 07/09/2017 17:11

AIBU to not pay a £50 (which I can't afford) GP letter that says my child has food allergies?
DS2 started reception on Tuesday, school have said they can't give any lunch except a baked potato until I have filled in the school dinners form which asks about food intolerances, allergies, or sensitivity.
On the front of the letter it asks for proof of allergies from his GP.
I have rang the GP for a letter, which he informed me he would have to charge me £50 for said letter.
DS has a nut especially peanut allergy and has a small reaction to tuna.
The school has a no nut policy anyway.
He doesn't like tuna and won't entertain it, so there is quite minimal risk that he would come into contact with any allergens.
I understand why the school need to be informed, but why isn't my word good enough? after all I've told the GP what he is allergic too and they have in record from what I have told them.

OP posts:
dataandspot · 07/09/2017 17:14

Do you not have any hospital paperwork which states your child's allergys?

Are you under a peadiatrician? Could you ask them?

stargirl1701 · 07/09/2017 17:18

You need to get the School Nurse to liaise with the school on this. The school secretary will have her phone number. I would also get in touch with the Allergy Nurse from your clinical team at the hospital as she can offer advice and support to the school.

HiJenny35 · 07/09/2017 17:20

Because parents send in endless 'my child is allergic to x, y, z' when actually they just don't like the items, for example 'my child's allergic to mushrooms' when actually they don't like the way they taste! For allergies the whole menu has to be considered and rewritten and all seasoning, mixes etc checked it's a massive undertaking and needs to be done when a child is actually allergic as written by a doctor not on a parents word. The school also need a plan for if the child somehow accidentally eats some of it based upon how bad the allergy is.
You could do packed lunches instead.

idontwannaneedthem · 07/09/2017 17:21

Unless your child dying of an allergic reaction is worth more to you than £50, than YABU

shushpenfold · 07/09/2017 17:22

OP I have lots of contact with lots of schools and without fail, we have parents who say their children have allergies and they're just food dislikes. It's difficult, time consuming and incredibly dangerous to get it wrong. In one of the well publicised cases of missed allergy leading to a child death which was in the news a while ago, the school was found to have only noted 7 allergies and yet there were 57 pupils in the school with serious ones. That's what happens when schools don't keep up to date records. Pupils with serious allergies may need individual healthcare plans and if in a school with in house catering, they will have their photo on the allergies board do that the catering staff can see who they need to take extra care with. Schools can't be too careful and I think you need to appreciate that.

Migraleve · 07/09/2017 17:25

Don't want to state he obvious but....

Packed lunch??

Alternatively I wouldn't even mention allergies since it's a no nut policy and he doesn't even like the other thing he is allergic to!

scurryfunge · 07/09/2017 17:26

I think the issue you have is with the surgery and not the school. Can you negotiate with the surgery and try to offer what you can afford?

FluffyNinja · 07/09/2017 17:26

Surely under DPA law, you can ask for a copy of child's medical notes from the surgery for the £10 fee?

Kit30 · 07/09/2017 17:29

Are you in the UK? There are fixed charges but only for non medical issues in respect of adults - things like you're a bit stressed because you're caring for someone whose ill and need a week off, definitely not for a child with a potentially fatal allergy

MissEliza · 07/09/2017 17:32

£50 for a GP letter? When we needed one to get money back on a cancelled holiday, we only paid £10. That was three years ago. I'm assuming that's a standard NHS charge.

Theresnonamesleft · 07/09/2017 17:36

Can you not get a letter from whoever did the allergy test?

i can understand why they want evidence. We had a child who had various allergies, as others have said, this all had to be relayed to the kitchen who then made adjustments. The child apparently had a severe dairy allergy but was often sent in with Wotsits.

GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough · 07/09/2017 17:42

Doctors can charge as little or as much as they like for letters they make the rules.
I'd probably pay it or do pack lunches

thatdearoctopus · 07/09/2017 17:43

My dd has recently had a whole battery of allergy tests at a major hospital. I received a (free) copy of the results letter written to the GP. Can't you send that to the school?

OurMiracle1106 · 07/09/2017 17:44

My surgery allows you to view records online. I've then just opened letters from various health professionals and printed them

RideOn · 07/09/2017 17:44

It is ridiculous the school asked for a letter from GP.
Your word is good enough.

My DS started reception this week too and has several food allergies. They have got his epipen/antihistamine /inhalers and not asked for any letter.
Has the school taken his allergy medication?

Also DS is having packed lunches until he is old enough to advocate for himself regarding food, just incase.

Does your school allow packed lunches?

ButchyRestingFace · 07/09/2017 17:44

Is your GP's name Dr Turpin, by any chance? Shock

NoProblemForMe · 07/09/2017 17:45

I'm assuming your child does not require an epipen but surely you've had some form of official paperwork confirming the allergies sent to you?

RideOn · 07/09/2017 17:46

It is ridiculous the school asked for a letter from GP.
Your word is good enough.

My DS started reception this week too and has several food allergies. They have got his epipen/antihistamine /inhalers and not asked for any letter.
Has the school taken his allergy medication?

Also DS is having packed lunches until he is old enough to advocate for himself regarding food, just incase.

Does your school allow packed lunches?

Olympiathequeen · 07/09/2017 17:47

Isn't that illegal to charge a disproportionate fee? Car clampers have been penalised for unreasonable fees, so surely it doesn't take more than 5 minutes to run off a copy of his medical records regarding the allergies. That works out at £600 an hour!

Getting a copy of his medical records for £10 seems reasonable if that's possible.

It seems very unreasonable that a child who has possibly life threatening allergies and all the anxiety that goes with it is penalised twice by an extortionate fee.

Sirzy · 07/09/2017 17:47

I can understand why school want proper evidence.

Can you contact the school nurse though? If he has allergies which are likely to impact him in school he needs a proper care plan in place anyway

SchnitzelVonCrummsTum · 07/09/2017 17:50
  1. This is standard fee for a GP letter, as recommended under GP contract. You (generally, not the OP!) have no idea how many people ask for doctor's notes every day and how much time it takes away from seeing patients.
  1. Letter from hospital is likely to be needed - just ask for a copy of one from your child's notes.
  1. Yes, it's essential the school meals company receives official notification of the allergy, to ensure that they correctly follow medical guidance and aren't liable if any miscommunication occurs. Plus sorting out special menus is time consuming and expensive, and needs to be done only when there is a documented medical requirement.
grasspigeons · 07/09/2017 17:50

Has the school actually asked for the proof? I know it's on the form but if you just fill the form out they may not actually want the letter that goes with it. I think our caterers have that on their form but they have never asked for the letter.

Does your child have medication to go with the allergy? As you could photocopy the label on that.

SchnitzelVonCrummsTum · 07/09/2017 17:51

Also, there should be a care plan in place to safeguard the child from allergens in other situations (e.g. classroom), which the school are responsible for (and parents should be involved in co-developing, possibly alongside medical specialists), and which will be separate from the meal-based requirements.

Orangeplastic · 07/09/2017 17:52

Ds has test results that prove he has got a nut allergy but the reality is he hasn't. No test can prove he has issues with dairy and wheat, but experience proves he has, the doctor would just be repeating what ds has said - I'd be fuming if I needed to pay a doctor to put this in writing - what a waste of time and money!

youarenotkiddingme · 07/09/2017 17:52

Surely if your child has a nut and fish allergy he has antihistamine and epipen prescribed? He's had the tests and you have a consultants letter where they wrote with the results?
Also you should have drawn up a care plan with school nurse and school first aided with regards what to do in the event of a reaction.

With all this in place paying £50 for a letter seems ridiculous.

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