The charge for a letter is excessive!

[Dilbertian]

We are applying for Special Consideration for ds in his A-level assessments, as he was ill for most of the spring term. Obviously the school know (and they have been brilliant ) but we have to provide supporting evidence in the form of a letter from the GP. The letter will cost £72.

Ironically, we were in the same situation with dd three years ago. She was discharged from hospital the day before her first exam. But in her case all we had to do was submit a copy of her hospital discharge note, which was, of course, free.

We expected to pay for the GP letter, but £72?! Surely that's unaffordable for many families? Is it fair? We can afford to pay it, and will. But it feels wrong.

AIBU to think that such letters for children and young people in education, particularly for situations that can have a massive effect on their futures, should not be so expensive?

I paid £125 for a form for work which involved about five ticks and a signature.

It is expensive. I'm not sure how they come up with these prices; are they at the discretion of the surgery?

Last month I requested a letter from my GP and thankfully I wasn't charged.

Do you work for free then?

I've paid for letters/signatures in the past for various things. However, on one ocassion I was so miffed at being charged for a letter that the school had requested that I expressed my dissapointmet to the receptionist. I asked why we were being charged for evidence that the school was requesting at the behest of the government. Schools require documentation in order to justify attendence records and parents are being charged for the evidence. On that ocassion the letter was handed over for free.

On other ocassions the GP would type it up himself while we sat in his office and would hand the paper to us directly. No receptionist intervention required.

GPs used to be able to sign passport forms. They charged so much for doing this they were taken off the list.

I can sign them and wouldn't dream of charging anyone

@newtb that's probably because your not getting 10-20 forms every day to fill in
It's all lovely to be generous when it's one off here or there but everyday takes the biscuit

@newtb

GPs used to be able to sign passport forms. They charged so much for doing this they were taken off the list.

I can sign them and wouldn't dream of charging anyone

They weren’t taken off the list because of the cost. A doctor can still sign if they know you. They were taken off the main list because most people no longer have a specific GP and the person signing your form has to actually know and recognise you.

Our surgery no longer does letters or anything for benefit tribunals. They said they pay so little attention to them it’s an absolute waste of their time. I can understand where they are coming from, but it’s something I have huge concerns about when my DD’s renewal comes up next. They used to charge £75 for it.

I needed a GP letter for work.
She didn't even mention money! 😯
I bought her flowers and wine later as it was about my own ill health.

This is private work. It's not in the standard GP contract, so unless GPs charge patients, they and their team won't get paid. Do you expect any other professional in your life to work for free?! Remember, it's not just the evil fat cat GP pocketing the money - they use it to pay for the time of the secretary who typed the letter, and to pay for the heating and lighting for the time it took them to dictate the report and the secretary to write it...

@copernicium

I paid £125 for a form for work which involved about five ticks and a signature.

Do you not think your poor GP spent a fair bit of their time reading your medical records to enable them to accurately tick those boxes?!

GPs are generally paid £90 an in London and £80 an hour outside so they probably calculated it by the time it took them

It doesn't sound that high to me if you take into account all the overhead that supports the GP's ability to produce the letter. GPs are running a business with significant expenses. What seems unreasonable is that there isn't government funding to ensure students are on a level playing field when it comes to things like this.

@JustMarriedAndLovingIt

Wow, that’s a lot. I had to get one once and it was £25 which I thought was loads. All the doctor did was dictate it, the secretary typed it so pretty easy for him. Daylight robbery if you ask me.

I’d say the doctor did a bit more than dictate the letter. He/she accessed your notes, read them to find the relevant info, decided what info was relevant depending what the letter was for, and then composed a letter that was accurate and that they could later stand over if necessary. Then the secretary had to type it and print it, the GP had to proof read it and sign it. Time and resources used which are not paid for by the NHS so need to be paid for by the person requesting the service.

@newtb

GPs used to be able to sign passport forms. They charged so much for doing this they were taken off the list.

I can sign them and wouldn't dream of charging anyone

It’s a complete waste of a GP’s time to be signing passport forms. Charging for them is an effective deterrent.

I need a GP's letter every 10 years to renew my gun licence. Nine years ago it cost me £75.

I'm expecting to pay £120+ next time. For a prewritten Word letter that says 'Patient X has no history of mental illness. Sincerely, GP.

Still, she's a decent GP and I can normally get an appointment, so I try to think of it as a contribution to the overall service.

£70 is a lot more than we paid, however I don't mind paying because it will help dd. On the request form we had to say if we received benefits so I am (perhaps naively) thinking that there might be some reduction for those who cannot afford that. We also had the option to have an email copy of the blood tests/ consultation notes for free but that is without the signature.

It is though really hard to see your child in this position after all their hard work to be thwarted at the last hurdle by something not their fault, especially when last year they would have just been given their results and another year they would hopefully have been better before the exams come around. Hope he is able to recover over the summer.

@baldafrique

Any time spent writing a letter is time that could have been used to for a patient consultation. How much does a patient consultation cost to the NHS? Surely around the £70 mark for all involved costs?

GP's doing consultations? Yeah right

Subject access request. Gives you all the medical records so you will have evidence of what has been written up and medication given etc. Can’t charge for it either. You can say you want all notes from September 2019 for example.

@Mintjulia there are alternatives to your own GP for the gun licensing process who can be cheaper - this is one that I know of, flat fee of £60. www.medcert.co.uk/

The unreasonable bit is needing the GP to provide a letter if alternative evidence can be provided that is readily available. Though I understand the need for some evidence given the number of applications for special consideration that apparently are made.

The Op hasn’t answered whether he/ she is happy to work for free? As you and some others on this thread are expecting the GP to work for free, what to do you for a living, and when do you provide that for free?

No? Shocker. How dreadful of you!

If you do go down the SAR route note that they have 1 calender month to provide the information but can extend this to a total of 3 months if it is volumous or complex so depending when you need the letter by this may not work.

@allmycats

I remember many years ago my son, an athlete, was selected for the World youth games. He had some forms for anti doping agency that the GP needed to sign. They charged £140 to a school boy. Many years later the same GP came to the optician where I work for DVLA form signing. He said ' I am a pensioner how much is it' after the form had been completed. Optician looks over to me and asks, ' how much did X charge for a signature on your D Sons form when he was still at school. £140 says me. Optician to GP ' The cost is £140. GP had to pay up. Karma !!

And then everyone stood up and clapped.