Since when did you have to pay to see NHS GP?!!

[SpecialOPs]

Dd was a passenger in a car at the weekend which was rear ended at traffic lights.

She was fine at first then got symptoms of whiplash and has very painful shoulder, neck and headache. She works at a PC and it's agony to sit in her chair so has had to take most of this week off.

Rang GP this morning to see if she could get some stronger pain meds and a note saying she should WFH next week rather than travel into London.

Receptionist said she needed to pay £23.50 before a GP would speak to her! DD said that can't be right, receptionist insisted so DD said she wouldn't pay it. I rang back later and it was confirmed,

Apparently this is because they will be the first to see her after an RTA? I said would A&E have refused to treat her until she'd paid then if she'd been rushed there with more serious injuries? She said she didn't know.

AIBU to think this is an outrage!

In the 1970’s my parents were involved in a RTA. Taken to hospital in ambulance, a charge for the ambulance showed up because insurance was involved.

so….to answer your original question, a long, long while. When insurance is involved!

Not only can they charge her for this initial consultation, they will likely charge her for the supporting letter to WFH that she's requesting.

I had a car accident last month. (Some arrogant woman flew through 2 parking spaces and hit me side-on). Called the local GP and was advised that the new protocol is that you need to go to hospital FIRST to be assessed. If you try to see your GP first, they will be charged - hence this fee they mentioned. Sounds like they did not explain themselves very well !!! Hope the patient improves soon xxxx

Fit notes are free - once you have been off work for 7 days. A letter to your employer incurs a charge. At the NHS surgery where i work we charge £40 for a letter,

Can I just add, that you calling the surgery back for clarification on the fee when she has clearly been told of the procedure to follow is part of the issue of why people can't get through to gp surgeries!
If that is the process following an RTA, driver or not, why make such a song and dance about it? 🙄

I was in an RTA 30 years ago. Went to A&E, was seen, got an x-ray. I then got a bill !

I remember being very indignant about it because the accident wasn't my fault (woman drove out of a side street when I had right of way and I was keeping to the speed limit).

However when I checked, this was indeed the law hence why I was charged for my A&E treatment.

A&E can charge if it’s an RTA. They don’t always do, but they can. If the person didn’t go to A&E, the GP can be considered the provider of treatment- it’s all above board. You may not agree, but it’s legal.

“Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, the first doctor to provide emergency treatment to the victim of a road traffic accident is generally entitled to charge a fee.”

I can’t get the link to copy but Google “Fees for emergency treatment in a road traffic accident” by the BMA.

It's perfectly reasonable on the footing that your DD can recover this along with other out of pocket expenses and damages for pain and inconvenience from the insurance of the driver responsible. Why not just do that?

www.bma.org.uk/pay-and-contracts/fees/fees-for-doctors-services/fees-for-emergency-treatment-in-a-road-traffic-accident

think I got it now

I'll be honest, haven't read whole thread. But I used to work in medical claims for a car insurer.
Your daughter as passenger is well within her right to make a claim for whiplash. She should claim from her driver (insurers have an agreement that they will cover costs for their own passengers). The claim is likely to provide a lump sum for damages and also recompense for lost days work

It could be worth her seeing, a chiropractor. As they can fix her muscles in her neck and shoulders. As the pain meds will only mask her symptoms. Not heal them.
I hurt my shoulder at work, care assistant. I went to a chiropractor, as they had fixed my partners back, after the doctors, had prescribed the wrong painkillers.
He asked why I hadn't gone to a doctor first, I explained about my partner. He said I had done the right thing, as painkillers only mask the problem, not solve it, it gets worse and after 1 lot pain meds don't work, doctors prescribe 2nd lot, that again don't fix it. Eventually 6 months later or so, a load of pain, they then send you to a chiropractor, but it then takes him longer to fix, as the problem has got worse with time.
Yes it does cost more, but it will help her get back to been pain free quicker.

It’s not paying to see a GP, it’ll be because it’s seen as something to do with a car accident - they’ll assume insurance will be claiming costs from other side. If they need to provide a note for this purpose they’ll charge.

I’d really caution on the chiro approach. They are, at times, no better than snake oil peddlers. If you find a good one, they’re great, but they can cause more damage than help.

I’m not a healthcare professional, but have A LOT of experience with neck/back problems, sadly.

In my experience, asking for an x-Ray (can easily be done via the GP/outpatients), or getting a soft tissue assessment via a physio, would be my first approach. It’s less likely to cause a significant problem , which can be the case if there is undetected fractures, etc. Once she is sure there isn’t, I would, in all honestly, go the physio route, first and foremost. There’s a number of physios who have additional qualifications for back/neck injuries, and treatments, and I would recommend one of them.

Our GP surgery has a poster that says if the GP is the first medical attention sought after a car accident, a fee will be payable. She should go to A and E. It is to stop people using GP appts to claim on insurance.

The insurance company can pay for this.

Wow so much I didn't know on this thread..
@SpecialOPs why isn't your DD claiming? I suspect that the surgery don't know whether she'll claim further down the line?

Sorry to mention fit note (ducks and takes cover) but a gp can (after 5 working days self cert illness) recommend reasonable adjustments on return to work - such as working from home for a limited period of time. This is free (or should be) as part of a fit note.

The cost will be for post RTA appointment.

she should get this advice from her employer

Oh ffs quit whinging and just pay the money! It’s £25 not £250. You’d spend that on a meal out. Or what about all the train fare into London she’ll save being at home. If she’s in serious pain and needs help like you say she does then surely it’s money well spent. She could be feeling better already and instead you’ve wasted all this time moaning and getting nowhere.

If no one else has said this yet (cant be arsed to read the responses tbh!) This has ALWAYS been the case for the circumstances you describe, for like the last 20 years minimum....

.... I know this because I worked for the police from 2006-2017 and told people this on a daily basis. I also had a massive car accident in 2004 and was told this.

The technical bit: IF you have a car accident you are not required to report that to the police unless there are injuries involved or the road is blocked. Otherwise you can exchange insurance details and be on your merry way.

Sometimes when people get home and phone their insurance company, their insurance company asks if there were any injuries and the person realises that they will get more money/etc out of their insurance if they say they are injured, so they say their neck or arm or leg hurts, but that there are no visible injuries. The insurance company is on to 'crash for cash' liars and so then demands paperwork from the hospital or a letter from the GP confirning that there is an injury, or at least that one has been reported.

This surprises our poor injured car driver but they decide to go to their GP the next day and fake whine about their sore necks and ask for a letter to send to their insurance company.
The GP is also onto 'crash for cash' offences, and so says well I can write you a letter but I will have to charge you our standard letter writing fee, which they are well within their rights to do. OR they will have a big sign (my GP has it on the glass of the entrance door) saying that if you are coming to see them the day AFTER your car accident (even if yes your injury is genuine) then they WILL charge you their 'private' fee. This is the same as the fee they would charge you to do a private health check for life insurance, or a private health certificate for job interview for specific jobs (like the military, deep sea diving etc), they can also charge private fees for vaccines you don't normally need for the UK too, but need for a border crossing/visa, like Yellow Fever. (Mind it was nearly 20 years ago I got charged for that too so that may not be the same now!!)

And YES in respect of car accidents they do charge it in an effort to weed out people who are NOT seriously injured, or who ARE lying about their injuries for insurance purposes as it often puts off people who are trying to fake their way to a big pay out, in other words the cost/fee puts them off. And yes sadly this negatively affects people who are genuinely injured.

The absolute BEST thing you can do if you are genuinely injured in a car accident is to go to the hospital or GP immediately. Obviously if its a serious injury you may need an ambulance, or one may have been called for you, otherwise make your own way to A&E.
If thats not an option or you dont think your injury is that serious but want it registered, then call your GP and try and get an appointment, if they dont have one ask them if they can register your call and if doing so will mean you wont get a charge if you call for an appointment tomorrow. They may say, yep we'll see you free of charge because you called today and its our fault we couldnt see you. They may say, nope, nothing we can do about it, you'll incur a charge. If thats the case then I would go and sit in a&e until you get seen OR take the charge on the chin, as you need that paperwork to make a claim on your/the other parties insurance.

Most people just arent aware of this because it doesn't happen to most people or you dont have to make use of it! But its totally normal across the country, ALL GPs do it.

And, whats important to remember is that they're perfectly within their rights to do it. They advertised (loudly) that they can and will do it too.

So the absolute best thing to do when youve had a car accident is take stock of your injuries and if something hurts even a tiny bit, then
A ) you need to report it to the police immediately. Police are supposed to attend the scene of any RTC where an injury has occurred.
B ) GO AND GET IT CHECKED OUT AT THE APPROPRIATE VENUE THAT SAME DAY and then you won't get charged private fees like the OP.

Honestly, this is the sort of shit they should be asking you in order to pass a driving test 🙄 😒

lucky it is so little, GP I work for charges £80 minimum for any non NHS letter/form and up to £150 for insurance/solicitors letters

I'd seek clarification in some written form from the practice manager - see if there is a misunderstanding or a good explanation - and then consider complaining.

So receptionist expected DD to go down to surgery, pay the fee and would then have had to try to get through again tomorrow to see if the GP wanted a telephone appointment or for her to go in.

But this does sound very odd.

Read the thread, you dimwit. It has been explained at least 20 times.

Insurers pay this but I work in insurance claims and I've only seen it invoiced directly by the hospital to the Insurers.

I was billed after a car accident in 1998. It isnt new.

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow I have and the various differing explorations offered and the the latest OP update.

I don't think it normal to pay and then not even by seen by a GP but to ring up again and maybe be offered a phone appointment.

Paying before going in or after appointment possibly and seems to be GP dependent anyway - but going down paying and then going though whole process next day - that just fucking poor.

That not my experience of the NHS - but I do have experience of GP receptions getting things wrong or misunderstanding GP procedures.