GP charging for blue badge letter - disabled child

[GPlettercharge]

Just checking if this is usual practice to be charged for a GP to write a supporting letter for a blue badge application for a disabled child?

My child is 5, has profound learning difficulties and ASD. Is non verbal and attends specialist school. Displays many challenging behaviours and has no sense of danger. Regularly refuses to walk and can also try to run into the road etc.

Our local authority are notoriously difficult in giving out blue badges and I was advised by his specialist school to get a supporting letter from the GP to apply for a blue badge as they’ve seen first hand how dangerous he is in a car park.

Our GP had an appt with him and has agreed to write the letter. However they have charged £40 for this.

Is this standard? It seems excessive, it’s not as though we’ve asked for a letter to support us going on holiday or something. This is for a disabled child!

I suppose I will pay it if necessary but wanted to check if this was the norm.

Thanks

I don’t think you’re unreasonable to be shocked by this, OP.

I’m not criticising the GP but I think it’s really sad that it’s come to this, parents of disabled kids being charged for letters so they can access services/aids on their children’s behalf.

The point a lot of people were making is that neither the GP or the parent should have to do this. There is already a completely FREE process to apply for the badge? Therefore both parties are in an awkward situation where the parent should not even have to ask the GP but strangely, the entire blame is on the GP

yes it depends on certain councils, but with mine I can apply for one with standard PIP, not enhanced.

Not in every area. Just like “the" NHS is actually a million little fiefdoms, each with their own set of rules and rationing criteria the criteria and requirements applied by differing badge awarding authorities vary widely.

Whacking up the extra barriers to make it as difficult as possible is a common tactic. Some will accept a specified level of PIP or DLA as a qualifier, others don’t. Kent is apparently in the latter category.

I suspect very few people who haven’t done it have the slightest clue about the costs involved with a significantly disabled child. PIP and carers allowance don’t touch the additional costs for many let alone the fact that in many cases one parent loses an income to provide the care.

OP I’m a GP and as others have said, and as you now realise, the NHS won’t cover this sort of work unfortunately. It’s a bit like if your child went to nursery, and you paid a monthly fee for it, then one of the staff babysat for you one Saturday night. That cost wouldn’t be covered by your monthly fee. You’d have to pay the nursery worker separately.

Also, it’s not necessarily the individual GP’s decision how much to charge. The practice will have a policy, decided on by the partners and manager, and the BMA guidelines.

It’s frustrating, I understand that, but the volume of supporting letters is such that waiving the fees would lead to hours and hours of unpaid work. And by definition, most of the supporting letters we write are for people who are disadvantaged. That said, I have written letters to support council house applications and insisted on not charging. I can’t see the point in forcing someone who is homeless to try and scrape together £20 for a letter . I’d rather work for free than do that.

Have you not gone under the SMI,route he would have an automatic enttlemrnt?

Does he get DLA? My Grandson got one automatically with our council by providing his award letter .

@Isobel201 in England, the automatic entitlements to a blue badge are the same across all councils. In England, with PIP, 8 points in the moving around activity automatically entitles someone to a blue badge, but 8 points from the planning and following a journey activity doesn’t. Although that doesn’t mean people can’t still apply and be assessed.

@C8H10N4O2 in England, the automatic entitlements to a blue badge are the same across all councils. In England, high rate mobility DLA entitles the claimant to a blue badge whatever council they live in.

I work about 80 hours a week unpaid for my community and it keeps me away from my family and not one person that I do that for does a thing for me. AND this is because of people asking for things on goodwill. This is purely down to ppl exacting things for nothing and not a choice. So it starts off as 1 hour then extends to unreasonable hours. This is the extreme end of what 'empathy' does.

I wasn't asking for what you do voluntarily in the community, I meant as an expectation from others as part of your job - how many extra hours do you do because ppl expect it?

I was asking for a reciprocal arrangement - what do you do for your GP/kid's school/nursery etc for the unpaid labour they do for you?

It doesn't guarantee that the nasties don't turn up, but there is a disabilities board that is friendlier. You need to understand that empathy around here is reserved for only those earning £100k pa wanting to not pay tax.

Standard here in South Wales too OP.

It is standard practice for Dr's to do this, however a teacher at the school or the Head of the school could write a letter explaining the situation, as well as the fact they have seen him being not aware of road safety.

There’s plenty of sympathy. Why do you equate disagreement with nastiness? No one has been unpleasant, just haven’t agreed.

My knickers aren't in a twist.

The point is, after dozens of people on this thread have pointed out that GPs don't get paid for this work, your position is that your GP is somehow better and morally superior to others who actually charge for the work they do.

And your GP could have numerous reasons for doing so. In the same way that a mechanic might not charge for some things and not others, when they should be charging for all.

They have individual lives, some with more responsibilities than others. Some with more anxieties than others. Some just can't be arsed with the questions, complaints and abuse they'll get so just do things because it's easier even if it makes their lives harder.

And having had experience in this area, your POV is exactly what many people use when GPs want to be paid for THEIR WORK. Oh, well this persons GP wouldn't charge for it so this GP seems bad in not making the choice not to do so.

And is in turn used to abuse the replacement GP when yours moves on or retires. Dr John Smith would NEVER charge for this, this surgery has gone to the dogs and new Dr Jones clearly doesn't care..

I said TOWARDS not covering. Many people have extra needs that they cover themselves. For example if the child in question is not deemed eligible for NHS treatment for whatever so parents pay privately ( using money given to them) in what way is it higher priority to someone who has a buggered up knee for example but can't get it treated on NHS so would have to pay privately but gets given not a penny towards it?

You think calling someone entitled and saying that I shouldn’t be “in profit” from his DLA money isn’t nasty?

My non verbal child has been signed off from speech and language therapy as they’re currently not able to help due to lack of availability of therapists.

You think that means he isn’t eligible?

And that I wouldn’t move heaven and earth to get him help despite the fact he should be entitled to it?

GPs always charge for letters in my experience, I was charged for one for my son when he was a child.

My GP proposed charging my disabled young person £95 for a 3 line letter.
We managed without it. (this GP is an utter shite in many other ways too).
My local authority also charges for Blue Badges (£40)
then you get abuse for using them if you don't 'look disabled enough'.
Good luck OP x

There's 2 answers really- no people shouldn't be charged for stuff like this; but also GPs aren't paid as part of the core contract so would be doing them for free if they didn't charge. Might not seem a big deal for 1 or 2, but you'd be surprised at how many letters and documents need reviewing and signing and how long each one can take- it adds up and it's tricky to draw a line as plenty of people should ideally not be charged if all was fair.

Sometimes you do have to pay for such services
it’s still work for the GP and why should it be free

Read the thread FFS

I don't think that's true at all.

I think a lot of people were annoyed by OPs lack of empathy to GPs, even when it was explained why the charges happen she didn't care other than to say okay, I get I have to pay it. Not, oh I see it isn't part of their work so it makes sense.

Instead, OP decided she was being penalised as the parent of a disabled DC even though she clearly wasn't.

And also was really disparaging about other people who need forms filled in that create a fee. Having a holiday request was 'frivolous' when many people needing a fee-paid GP letter are also disabled and need GP letters so they can travel with their medication or for insurance purposes.

To be honest, I think calling you entitled is a little rude, but at least from your earlier posts, can be defended as being accurate. In reality you may not be, but that is also how your posts read to me. To say so achieved nothing so I didn’t - because it’s rude. But it’s not, in my view, nasty.

In relation to the latter I don’t believe - if you read the post in question again - I don’t believe anyone did say that you thought you should be in profit. Maybe read again and see if on greater reflection you still think that’s what being said?

It seems - and I take no convincing - that you are under a lot of stress and this has made your cup run over. Fair enough, but I don’t think that means anyone pointing out truths of the situation you appear to have overlooked is nasty.

I hope your son gets the help he needs and that you can get to a less stressful place. Maybe a change in mindset could help with that?