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?

This. GP's are busy people. It's hard enough trying to get an appointment. If GP's spend time writing letters for TUI less time to see patients. It is reasonable for a charge to be made.

You're right, the NHS app doesn't show my injections I have from the rheumatology department, the company who provides the injections only know what I have from there.

YABU - the GP did not prescribe this medication and it’s not NHS work. I think it’s outrageous that people expect GPs to be at their beck and call for free. £55 for a letter is reasonable.

Are you saying your entire holiday budget is £110?

You know GPs are private businesses? If you asked a solicitor to write a letter it would cost a lot more? Or do you think the NHS should be paying to facilitate your holiday?

True. Why do I get a letter in the post telling me my appointment for the mammogram? I have text alerts, nhs app and surgery can call/email me.

the nhs is a millstone around our necks because of the stupidity of those responsible for it. It needs to be radically reorganised and yesterday

I had an injectable for my osteoporosis. It was outlined in my consultant's letter to my GP. Wouldn't a copy of that suffice?

I've no issue with paying a GP to write a letter and £55 wouldn’t phase me. I do, however, think that when one purchases a private service from the GP, the standard of provision needs to meet private expectations.

Can you contact or login to external company who supplies and print details from there

I am sorry but with the massive workload that the NHS has letters can be a lot of extra work so a payment is justifiable.

Our GP surgery has just announced that they are cutting down on the services they provide. For example if you need follow up blood tests after hospital care they will now have to be done at the hospital. They are trying to free up more time so that people are not waiting so long for appointments. Certainly where I live there is a severe shortage of GPs and I can't imagine that writing letters not covered by their NHS contract is high on their list of priorities. And why should they work for nothing? Work not covered by the NHS is private work so of course it has to be paid for. Nobody would expect, say, a solicitor or accountant to write a letter for them for free would they? And compared to what I paid the last time I asked a solicitor for a letter I'd say £55 is a bargain.
I'm not saying GPs are perfect - we've had our fair share of issues with ours - but they are professional people working in difficult circumstances currently and I don't expect them to work for free any more than I'd expect anyone else to.

They cause a lot of their own workload though with ludicrous bureaucracy. 28/56 day prescribing is an example.

GPs are a business.

If they weren't charging you, they'd be charging the NHS.

You aren't required to have a holiday abroad. Taxpayers dont need to fund it.

Its just part of the cost of the holiday.

I don’t think you need the letter just take evidence eg copy of prescription, or screenshot wherever it comes from / whoever prescribes it. You can get small ice packs under 100ml.

No its not justifiable to charge patients or use staff time for something which every normal business automated decades ago.

A great deal of staff time and tax payer money is wasted doing manual, low level tasks which any business having to actually justify its costs automated long since. But rather than update its easier to make excuses and charge patients for more and more service elements whilst using the tag “free at the point of care”.

I disagree, if a patient requests a letter it can be a real pain and can be time consuming.
As someone who has a lot of these requests I know.

Try telling you solicitor or accountant that they can’t charge for letters.

the letter is chargeable because the GP is a private business
GP is a private for profit business isn't NHS

You are ignoring the fact that requests of this type should not be done manually.

How about we use horse drawn ambulances? Would it be acceptable to say “well this is what we have, deal with it” when every normal business and healthcare system is using modern vehicles?

This is the equivalent in business processes. You are complaining about the workload mucking out the horses when the rest of the world discovered the internal combustion engine last centure.

I can download a copy of documents my solicitor has drawn up for me.

That is because they work in the 21st century not in the era of quill pens.

This is not a weird or unusual or bespoke request - its a bog standard scenario to set up on self service (like most of the rest of the world does). Its no more difficult technically than reordering a prescription online but without the requirement for any follow up activity on the surgery side or pharmacy side.

Edit to add- a better analogy would be online banking where you can generate and download copies of bank statements where 20 years ago you had to pay a fiver for a copy to be manually produced.

A bespoke letter from a solicitor would be more akin to the specific detailed referral to a consultant (which can also be largely automated these days).

Can’t cost more than a few pounds to do it.

You’re paying for the GP’s time.

And he draws them up for free?

The alternative is the tax payer paying for your holiday letter. That doesn't seem fair does it? Agree that the cost seems excessive but it's private work really.

Nobody needs to “draw up” anything. Have you never used a modern business system with self service?

I didn't say I had an issue paying for a letter. I don't mind at all. I mind about the inefficiency of producing it when I am.paying.

I mind that 56 day prescribing wastes my time when it is unnecessary.

My GP charges me £70 for any letter.
I needed letter confirming my dd condition for toilet card for her school.
Each September I’m charged £70.
Few months ago I needed a letter for work to confirm my health chronic condition. . £70 too.

Does the GP actually have anything to do with this particular medication? It sounds like it’s the same as some of DS where it is controlled and prescribed by the hospital?