Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think GPs shouldn’t charge for these letters?

265 replies

Lostare · 31/08/2025 09:10

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?

OP posts:
SaratogaFilly · 31/08/2025 10:25

GameWheelsAlarm · 31/08/2025 10:18

A GP's job is to help you manage your health, not to facilitate your holiday. The time spent writing that letter ould have been used to give another sick person the appointment they are waiting for. Of course you should pay. But do check if it's necessary. For most medicines and most countries, the label on the box showing it is prescribed to you, and a copy of the prescription (screengrab of the relevant screen in the NHS app if you are paperless) is all you need. If the medicine is an illegal drug in the country you are visiting that might require more.

This!

Zov · 31/08/2025 10:26

Lostare · 31/08/2025 09:10

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?

If you can afford a holiday abroad, then you can afford to pay for the letter. Do you expect the doctor to work for free, after the best part of a decade training and getting into huge debt to become a doctor? Doctors don't do these letters in NHS times you know, they do it in their own time. You are paying for private doctor time. YABVU, and massively so @Lostare !!!

PollyBell · 31/08/2025 10:27

Of course I would expect to pay, they are not there as patients personal assistants

justasoul · 31/08/2025 10:27

People saying take a copy of the prescription: it goes from the hospital pharmacy directly to the provider. I’ve never seen my prescription. It’s not on the NHS app either.

SaltedPotato · 31/08/2025 10:29

OP email the IBD team and get them to confirm you have this on prescription. You do all the hard work, state in your email exactly what you want them to confirm. Then print off the email/have the email available. Add proof any copies of clinic letters that reference them and I suspect you should be fine.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 31/08/2025 10:30

£55 sounds very steep.

I once needed a letter to prove I was too ill to travel for insurance purposes, and it was £25. That’s more the leave I would expect.

Duechristmas · 31/08/2025 10:31

CagneyNYPD1 · 31/08/2025 09:16

I’m a bit confused. Are you sure you need a letter? I have a prescription for an injectable medication. I kept it all in its box with the pharmacy sticker on the box. And a copy of the prescription as proof. I flew in and out of Heathrow, Germany and Italy this summer with no problems.

Is your medication a controlled substance or over 100ml?

Even controlled medication can go through with a copy of your prescription and your name on the box.

themoonandtenbob · 31/08/2025 10:33

TroysMammy · 31/08/2025 09:19

Assuming the GP has agreed to shared care just ask for a print out of your medication list. If the hospital provides your medication ask the consultant who prescribed the medication for a letter.

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

Exactly.

If a GP is dictating a letter then he isn't doing any NHS work and is probably doing it in his own time.

He has a right to charge for that.

Keepingittogetherstepbystep · 31/08/2025 10:33

Do you have a copy of the letters sent to your GP from the hospital

The meds they prescribe will usually be listed on there.

Original poster
Lostare · 31/08/2025 10:34

How much do people think others should have to pay for the pleasure of being chronically ill? The amount of lost hours at work, prescriptions, travel etc, I’m probably well over £30,000 now.

I don’t think it’s that extreme to think it should be free to have a copy of a prescription or some sort of evidence of medication you take, particularly so when you’re injecting it in yourself.

I think lots of people are choosing to ignore the part where this sort of medicine is clearly one of the only types that doesn’t automatically come with a prescription or on the NHS app.

OP posts:
TTC1x · 31/08/2025 10:34

Is it infliximab, OP? We have taken it abroad (for my partner) many many times as we visit family abroad every month. Never needed a GP letter or anything. Never had questions on it either.

PollyBell · 31/08/2025 10:36

Lostare · 31/08/2025 10:34

How much do people think others should have to pay for the pleasure of being chronically ill? The amount of lost hours at work, prescriptions, travel etc, I’m probably well over £30,000 now.

I don’t think it’s that extreme to think it should be free to have a copy of a prescription or some sort of evidence of medication you take, particularly so when you’re injecting it in yourself.

I think lots of people are choosing to ignore the part where this sort of medicine is clearly one of the only types that doesn’t automatically come with a prescription or on the NHS app.

I dont see people ignoring anything people just don't agree

TheWickerWoman · 31/08/2025 10:36

Lostare · 31/08/2025 10:23

@TheWickerWoman would this print out list medication that isn’t listed under prescriptions on the NHS app and that I don’t have a copy of a prescription for? Theres 62 prescriptions showing in the app, including amoxicillin i was prescribed in 1998, but not the medicine I inject myself with twice weekly! If so, I will try that too, thank you.

It should definitely be added to your prescription page on practice records as an active medication but under a section called ‘hospital medication’ which would appear alongside your active repeat medication but a bit further down. (All of the old stuff shouldn’t appear on the printout)

This all depends on if your Surgery has coded it to your records when the Consultant has written to them about your care. They absolutely should have.

I would say definitely go and get one, have a look. If it’s not coded to your records then it needs to be because all of your relevant and active medical care/conditions/prescriptions should show on that summary.

SerendipityJane · 31/08/2025 10:38

CagneyNYPD1 · 31/08/2025 09:17

But yes I do agree that a GP letter should be much cheaper.

You mean we should all pay for them.

Why ?

Annoyeddd · 31/08/2025 10:41

Lostare · 31/08/2025 09:31

No I have never seen a formal prescription. I used to get it via an IV in hospital every 4 weeks and then they switched to self injecting pens which are delivered every few months. I get a delivery note with it but no prescription. It’s not weight loss, it’s a biological medication. I have chrons disease.

Is it labelled with your name etc by the pharmacy/company who prescribed it?

winesolveseverything · 31/08/2025 10:41

We have to take epi pens in our hand luggage, we were also quoted £55 for a letter, but our GP said that an official copy of the prescription would suffice and printed that out for free.

In the end security at the airport couldn’t have been less interested. This year we didn’t bother, we just left them in the original packaging with the prescription labels on. Again, no one was interested. They remained in the hand luggage as they went through the scanner and I’m not sure if anyone was any the wiser.

newmummycwharf1 · 31/08/2025 10:42

Lostare · 31/08/2025 10:34

How much do people think others should have to pay for the pleasure of being chronically ill? The amount of lost hours at work, prescriptions, travel etc, I’m probably well over £30,000 now.

I don’t think it’s that extreme to think it should be free to have a copy of a prescription or some sort of evidence of medication you take, particularly so when you’re injecting it in yourself.

I think lots of people are choosing to ignore the part where this sort of medicine is clearly one of the only types that doesn’t automatically come with a prescription or on the NHS app.

There are thousands of patients on these medicines in the UK. Taxes dont cover the cost of writing letters. They barely cover the cost of delivering core services. This is private work and GPs are expensively trained professionals. £55 is frankly cheaper than it should be for their time and expertise. Similarly, Consultants are expensive and shouldn't be doing it for free either. I think people need to be aware of what their NHS covers and what it doesnt. If you want it to cover travel letters - lobby to pay more taxes!

flyingsquirrelsagogo · 31/08/2025 10:44

Even if you don’t get a prescription as such, if it’s provided under NHS care it will be on your medical summary sheet. The only way it wouldn’t be is if it was a private medication. So just ask the receptionist to print out your summary (we use EMIS but I’m not sure of this is used in all GPs)

CosmopolitanCocktail · 31/08/2025 10:45

Lostare · 31/08/2025 10:16

We don’t have the national lawyer service so it’s not comparable. I do value GPs but (for now) it’s a public service, paid for by tax and understood as a necessity and importance. If my child’s teacher asked for £55 for a letter about her education, I’d be outraged too. Yet I value both their professions immensely.

That’s not the point though is it?
GPs are overwhelmed and are not obliged to take time out of their day to provide a letter as you chose to go abroad on holiday. They essentially run businesses and have to cover their overheads
This should absolutely not be part of the NHS- and funded by tax payers- anymore than paying for your travel insurance should be.

£55 may seem a lot but- someone has to type the letter, pay for the paper, cover the time the GP has to dictate it, look at your notes and confirm dose etc, paper/envelope/stamp, tax I could go on.
Not to mention the fact it’s not necessarily about the time to do it but the qualifications needed to get there.

You sound extremely entitled. Ever thought how much your monoclonal is costing the taxpayer????

mugglewump · 31/08/2025 10:46

I don't think you need a letter. Take the medication in its packaging with the prescription label on it, and as back up if you do not feel this is enough, take one of your hospital letters about your condition.

I take daily mercaptopurine, which is a controlled drug, for an autoimmune condition and I have never had any problems taking it with me on holiday. I always take my meds (i'm on loads) in my hand luggage because I can't risk be without it if my baggage goes astray and I have never once been asked about it. You will be fine. Enjoy your holiday.

Octavia64 · 31/08/2025 10:46

firstly, GP’s are not employees of the nhs.

most gp practices are private businesses that take on nhs contract work. They are like dentists - some dentists are private only, some are nhs only and some are a mix - a common mix is nhs for children and private only for adults.

if your dentist does private for adults and nhs for children, you would not expect him to treat you under the nhs just because he treats your children for free.

it is the same with GPs.

they used to do a lot of stuff that was not included in the nhs contract for free, out of goodwill. These days they are so busy on nhs work that work that is not included in the nhs contract is charged for, and usually at a very high rate as they do not want to do it.

you can’t get holiday vaccinations for free. You have to pay. In the same way, you cannot get this letter for free. You have to pay.
going on holiday is not considered a core part of looking after your health and if you want to travel it comes with costs.

C152 · 31/08/2025 10:47

Unfortunately, they are private providers, even though their only contract is with the public health service. A private provider will always look to increase revenue any way possible. No, I don't think it should be like this, particularly when so many people cannot get even a basic service. If we're going to be private, we should be open about it and have a set charging structure and SLAs.

IGaveSoManySigns · 31/08/2025 10:49

Lostare · 31/08/2025 10:34

How much do people think others should have to pay for the pleasure of being chronically ill? The amount of lost hours at work, prescriptions, travel etc, I’m probably well over £30,000 now.

I don’t think it’s that extreme to think it should be free to have a copy of a prescription or some sort of evidence of medication you take, particularly so when you’re injecting it in yourself.

I think lots of people are choosing to ignore the part where this sort of medicine is clearly one of the only types that doesn’t automatically come with a prescription or on the NHS app.

It’s not about that.

You wouldn’t be getting a medication from the NHS without a prescription. But either way, a letter to confirm what the medication is for isn’t under the GP’s NHS contract. So you either want them to write it on NHS time and take money from the taxpayer, or do it for free? They need to view your records, find the correct information, review your request and write the letter. Why should they do that for free?

tinyspiny · 31/08/2025 10:52

@Lostare have you tried asking the GP receptionist to print off a prescription for the medication in question , or if it comes from a hospital consultant originally ask his secretary to send you something . I take injectables everywhere ( steroid emergency kit) and never have any bother if I carry a prescription or steroid card .