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?

I’ve already said to you just ask for a summary sheet that the receptionist can print off. If your medication is through the NHS it will be on there. No letter needed.

The thing is you don’t need the letter. The NHS GP service cannot write letters for every patient who has to take prescribed medicine, from whatever source, on a flight or holiday. Any requirement by an airline is something they have created for no good reason unless the medicine is controlled or banned. Even then it is an issue for customs and law enforcement not the airline.

There should be a dispensing label on the medicine. It will have the details of the prescription. Which are basically your details, the prescribers details (can be a code or name) and the medicine. That is just as comprehensive as anything in the letter you want.

The government doesn’t pay GPs to write these letters simply because there is no need for them. Whatever is going on with the airline’s requirements is a problem they have created. If the dispensary aren’t providing the dispensing label that is their problem.

The surgery can just print off a summary sheet. The OP has requested a bespoke letter (I’m not judging for that, btw, just stating a fact).

GPs can print out an encounter report for you which will list all your medications. And all your health issues. This is free.

Depending on how soon you're going away, might also be a bad idea given that they don't have to provide it immediately. One calendar month to respond.

There should be exemptions, though. I have a relative with DS and learning disability, whose parents were told by HM passport office he needed a letter from his GP proving his disabilities prevented him from attending the interview when they applied for his 1st adult passport. £55 is a huge amount to a disabled person on state benefits. They wouldn't accept a letter from his social worker, care manager, consultant, or day centre manager - it had to be the GP!

Thats clearly a problem, but it should be solved by making the passport office not be so stupid.

@Lostare I travel with exactly the same type of medicine, pre-filled injectable pens in a cooler with separate 8mm needles, and I just make sure I take the original box and a letter from hospital/consultant that mentions the condition/treatment. The letter you've mentioned from hospital to the GP will be fine, just take that in a plastic wallet.

Never had any issues at security or anything, I've never even had the prescription box or letter looked at. You don't need to get a GP letter.

Paying for a letter doesn't bother me. What bothered me when I needed a form completed for my daughter, 20 years ago, when she smashed her leg and a holiday had to be cancelled was the fact that I was told to collect it at 2pm. It wasn't ready. I'd got my dd from house to car when she needed a wheelchair and then from car to surgery. The letter wasn't ready at 2pm and I was told to come back at 3.30pm. I asked them to post it and was told the surgery couldn't run to stamps. They cheque for the form was made out personally to the GP. £35, the equivalent of £140ph. I left and wrote them a stinker enclosing a first class stamp. The practice manager phoned me and bleated about lack of funding. It did not go well when I suggested the GP could have exchanged provided a stamp out of their equivalent £140ph fee!

Fellow Crohn’s sufferer, contact your IBD team at the your hospital. They will write the letter for free. Although as long as it’s packaged with your name and address on you shouldn’t need further proof.

In addition to the above, I would be getting the hospital to get it added to you NHS profile, as quite worrying it doesn’t show.

It's the drs time that isn't paid for by the nhs work. They'd have to login open the records, confirm the dose and medication, dictaphone a letter, the secretary types it and sends it back to the gp to confirm its correct then print it out. I get that people think drs are overpaid but a few pounds? Do you think a lawyer or a solicitor would accept a few pounds for such a task?

Which they may or may not charge for, or may or may not be willing to provide since every practice makes up its own rules for non contracted services.

The point is, in 2025 there is no excuse for this kind of facility not being available via Self Service which would require no time or effort from anyone in the practice. Letters verifying details of treatment or prescriptions are not an uncommon requirement which should require bespoke work from anyone at the practice.

Unfortunately, as you're requesting something that is not available on the NHS you're being charged fees as a private patient. It might seem steep to charge £55 for a letter, but it's probably quite reasonable compared with the charges of other professionals, e.g. solicitors, accountants.

@Lostare Haven’t RTFT but I get biologic injections for IBD too. Delivered from an external company. Have to be kept refrigerated. I’ve never had an issues when travelling and never provided a doctors letter. I just keep them in a cool bag thing with an ice pack in hand luggage. Though I do get the fear every time I fly that I’ll be asked to produce something and won’t have it. A few times I’ve taken injection early to fit in with travel plans. As it’s a right pain trying to keep them cool. Hope you get sorted. It’s a rotten disease.

Do you think people should work for free? You are asking them to do some work for you much like you would a window cleaner or a gardener etc.

If someone does work for you then you must pay them. It isn't really difficult to understand.

A lawyer or solicitor doesn't receive state funding for providing a service free at the point of delivery so thisi is not a good comparison.

That's expensive. I paid £25 for a letter to carry needles but I've never actually had to show it.

So is it issued prescribed by the doctor or the hospital? It sounds like it’s the hospital who prescribes it so you can a letter from them or you can ask the surgery for a copy of the letter sent to the surgery about this medication. You should also be able to see it if you have the NHS app.

Also I work in a surgery and £55 for a letter is very expensive, we charge £25 for a letter.
But like others said NHS work comes first so they can charge anything.

The point is that the funding is only for certain things and letters for people choosing to go on holidays is not funded, therefore someone must pay for the highly qualified professionals time....

i fly a lot with my injectable medications and always have copy fo prescription for other meds and letter from specialist for injections. Once in a blue moon the airline/airport security DO go through everything and read the letter etc and actually commented last time that I’d need to ask for a new up to date letter as the one I have was written 2 years ago and I did say no one has ever looked at this letter until today and they said they can and do check these at random intervals and if they aren’t satisfied they will refuse to let you fly with them. As they are very expensive as well as important for health then always carry a letter from hospital specialist just in case: they are used to writing these letters out and I’ve never had to pay - go charges yes but never been asked by specialist

Actually, some very much do. And as with the GP contract, there are only certain things it covers. So someone asking their state funded solicitor to do work outside that without paying would either be expecting free work or for the public purse to cough up. Just the same as with a GP.

I work in a gp surgery and it’s classed as private work
My Dh travels all over the world with work and he has to take an injection with him he takes a copy of his prescription which you can ask your Doctors or Chemist for.He has never been asked to show it when traveling.

I started a biologic bi weekly injection this year and I've never had a prescription for it and it's not listed anywhere. I guess the link to the private delivery company skips this step.

My clinic has it's own employed pharmacist who managed the mailbox so if I needed this I would contact her first

Don't you have any letters from your consultant detailing your medication? If not, contact the hospital or GP to get a copy.
It's reasonable for the GP to charge for a non NHS service. Why do you think they should work for free?

It's a perfectly good comparison because the topic under discussion is a private service, not an NHS one.