To think GPs shouldn’t charge for these letters?

[Lostare]

Flying soon (cheap flights and staying with family). I take injectable medication bi-weekly an autoimmune condition. I will be due to take this when I’m away.
I asked my GP for a letter confirming it’s prescribed medication so I can take it through the airport and they’ve requested £55 to give me this.
AIBU to think this is a ridiculous amount? I’m now stuck between not paying it and leaving my medicine at home, risking my condition flaring up, vs paying it and losing half my budget for my holiday!
is this a usual amount?

Or do you have a specialist nurse who acts as a liaison for you with the hospital team?

Unfortunately for you, this is not part of your GP's role. As you say, they're easier to get hold of than hospital consultants sometimes, but that doesn't make it their job and it's very easy for them to get totally swamped with requests that aren't their job to the point that they can't do the things that are their job

Is there a specialist nurse at your unit? They might be easier to get in contact with and supply with a letter

You don’t need this letter, you just need a print out of your regular prescriptions and to take your injections with the box they come in to show is prescribed to you. I know, I’m on the same story of thing for an auto immune issue and I regularly taster medication abroad with me. Never ever had a problem. I flat pack the box, put the injection in a cold pack pencil case type thing and pop my prescription print out in the case. Never ever been asked for more information.

It would be very odd for somebody not to have any letter or documentation at all with the name of the medication written somewhere. Surely when you were first prescribed it the hospital sent a letter to the GP?

There's no prescription label from the pharmacy stating your name and medication details on the packaging?

Surely there is a prescription label on the product delivered?

ds has an injectable medication and never has any issue travelling with it - in his case the syringe is separate from the medication itself but as the medicine is labelled it’s clear why the rest of the kit is needed

The GP's priority is NHS work and corresponding with other medical people/departments not free letters to TUI or Easyjet.

The amount of admin time that gets taken up with insurance claims, pip claims and letters like yours would take away from the time needed to send referrals, it’s only right if the GPs are doing additional private work like this that they charge for it.

You think they should work for nothing?

Won’t a copy of the prescription do?

I work in a field where patients are on biologics and we always tell patients to contact the pharmaceutical company for a letter. Never heard of anyone having problems when they take those letters with them.

People can’t loan they can’t get an appointment and then ask the GP to fill time doing stuff like this. There’s lots of good suggestions here on alternatives.

It’s the typical cost. These letters aren’t covered by their NHS contracts, so you’re essentially saying you think they should be using NHS time to do a private task!

Just seen it’s a biologic which I am also on. I have an app that I arrange delivery through, that shows my prescription and they have accepted that just fine in the airport. It’s only for security, the plane, nobody cares as you have passed security.

Your consultant should have written to your GP when she or he started you in the meds. They usually write to the gp after each appointment to summarise it.

find that letter (it’s often copied to you, or will be on the nhs app under correspondence) and take that.

I got a letter from the hospital when I was travelling with biological meds for Crohn’s - try your IBD nurse or consultants secretary

Same here, I went in with about 150 codeine tablets amongst others and just had my prescription and tablets in the original boxes with the pharmacy label.

Didn’t have an issue when I had to take everything out at security.

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.

Thank you for the advice I will contact the company that delivers it and ask them for a letter.
Ive gone through everything on the app, there is one letter from the hospital to the GP that mentions the pens but it’s a long letter about other things and is mentioned in one line of it (she switched to self injecting x on x date and the condition has remained stable). I wonder if this would be sufficient?
the IBD nurses haven’t called me back and I tried them twice, they never do unless you state you’re in a flare and coming to A&E. I tried them first.
I understand the pressures on GPs, I’ve been very unwell for 10 years so I do understand the stresses they are under, nonetheless I think charging a patient this much for a simple letter is ridiculous.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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