GP charge for signature - what is reasonable for LPA?

[thisgardenlife]

Just wondering if there are any GPs or Practice Managers who could give me an idea of what would be a reasonable charge for signing a Lasting Power of Attorney (to say I am compos mentis).

Thanks.

Get a friend to sign it....it will be free then

GP did it for free for my mum during a routine app. I got a friend to witness mine.

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately I was confused by the initial instructions on the LPA - it said someone like a doctor / lawyer / health professional AND who had known him for at least 2 years.

Further down in the detailed instructions (which I found too late) it said the above, but crucially said OR.

So we had asked GP (who my partner barely knows) to do it (now realise it could have been a friend) and the charge was £100.00. For my partner who has a terminal illness.

I will no doubt have to have dealings with this GP in the future about my partners ongoing care but we feel very let down about this - it just seems a bit uncaring.

We already felt let down as it turned out this GP was unaware of the terminal diagnosis (my partner had to tell the GP on a telephone appointment which went 'what can I do for you today' - they had no clue) because they hadn't read the letter from the consultant which was sent (electronically) nearly 3 weeks earlier.

I should have looked for the 'AIBU' button. But am I being unreasonable in feeling let down, and what should I do going forward? I suppose we could just request a different GP in the practice for partner's ongoing care. What would you do?

Just to add we didn't know it would be £100.00 until after it was signed. We thought there might be a small charge, but £100.00 was a shock.

It isn’t NHS work so they can charge pretty much what they want. Given the pressure GPs are under at the moment I’m not surprised it cost a bit. Wonder how much a lawyer would have charged….

It's £100 because of the risk attached to it.

If it ends up in a family dispute about whether the person had capacity or not and the GP needs to justify that signature, it can take hours if not days of time and expense.

Just to sign the piece of paper they would need to go through the medical records in a fair degree of detail, which may take 30-60 minutes. Like the above person says - see what a similarly qualified professional like a solicitor, architect or even skilled tradesperson charges for their time.

Thank you for the feedback. I wasn't sure but put like that I can see it's fine.

If you don't file the POA form within 40 days (think it's 40 anyway!) then they refund you the money. Just scrap the one you've started and do another one in the meantime. It's so quick to do online and you can just pick a friend as the certificate holder this time and save the £100 fee.

Sorry, just seen it's already signed! How frustrating. I think £100 is very steep and although I understand why GPS charge I think that's a crazy amount when it is such a straightforward form

I’m always pretty disgusted by the excessive charging by some doctors. I get that they get a lot of requests to sign various documents and will want to charge something, but to chance a form and sign it doesn’t merit a penny over, say, £15. I worked in the NHS as a Clinical Psychologist until I retired (early) in 2012. The only time I charged for anything was when it was requested by a company or benefit office etc. It never felt right to charge an individual, so I didn’t do it!

@FixTheBone

It's £100 because of the risk attached to it.

If it ends up in a family dispute about whether the person had capacity or not and the GP needs to justify that signature, it can take hours if not days of time and expense.

Just to sign the piece of paper they would need to go through the medical records in a fair degree of detail, which may take 30-60 minutes. Like the above person says - see what a similarly qualified professional like a solicitor, architect or even skilled tradesperson charges for their time.

Not so, the GP could charge the estate for the additional work.

My (absolute lovely, FWIW) GP charged me £25 just to sign a letter explaining my disabilities and the way the hinder me; so I can understand £100 for a letter with such a huge responsibility/risk attached.

I'm so sorry to hear about your partner

It’s a bargain at £100.

The solicitors in our area charge 6-800 pounds for these.

As a practice we no longer get involved for anyone. They are non NHS work for which we have to pay a hefty insurance for.
That wee signature is a potential career suicide.

I have a colleague who signed one for a well known and ‘straight forward’ rationale patient. Fast forward 9 years and my colleague spend 4 days in court, thousands in legal fees and locum replacement cover defending that signature when a family member didn’t like the contents of the will and wanted to claim the patient was do- lally.

It’s not just a form, it’s considering the long term possibilities, the due diligence of ensuring medical records are up to date, the indemnity etc.
It’s a minefield better left to solicitors (who do not need a Gp input) unless there is a query about capability/capacity in which case a specialist (usually psycho-geriatrian) opinion should be sought.

Just to add, going forward you can ask for a different Gp but to be honest the practice will set the charge for all GPs willing to do these forms.
It’s not an individual amount depending on the GP, if that changes how you feel.

@TisTheSeasonToBe

It’s a bargain at £100.

The solicitors in our area charge 6-800 pounds for these.

As a practice we no longer get involved for anyone. They are non NHS work for which we have to pay a hefty insurance for.
That wee signature is a potential career suicide.

I have a colleague who signed one for a well known and ‘straight forward’ rationale patient. Fast forward 9 years and my colleague spend 4 days in court, thousands in legal fees and locum replacement cover defending that signature when a family member didn’t like the contents of the will and wanted to claim the patient was do- lally.

It’s not just a form, it’s considering the long term possibilities, the due diligence of ensuring medical records are up to date, the indemnity etc.
It’s a minefield better left to solicitors (who do not need a Gp input) unless there is a query about capability/capacity in which case a specialist (usually psycho-geriatrian) opinion should be sought.

You're paying for a professional opinion...not a signature. Also it should be lawyers doing these as they should be explaining the terms of the poa to the grantor.

Capacity is decision specific so each decision being made needs assessing.

I don't sign POAs as a GP for that very reason.

Would charge over £100 if asked. Why is my degree and opinion worth less than a lawyer's?

Thanks for all the feedback but @FoamyBanana is right:

You don't need a lawyer to arrange a LPA. They are DIY document available on the government website here:

www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney

You fill the form in and print it off, pay the fee (£82.00 per LPA) then sign it and get your attorneys to sign it and get it witnessed by someone independent (neighbour, friend) then certified by someone (not a family member) who has known you for over 2 years to confirm it is your own decision.

Then you send it to the Office of the Public Guardian.

Many people believe, wrongly, that they need a solicitor to arrange a LPA, and they are often charged hundreds of pounds for the service.

There are also intermediate companies that offer this as a service, at unnecessary additional cost. (A friend who took equity release was encouraged at the same time to arrange LPAs - they sorted it all at an overall cost of over £1,500).

It is a (perfectly understandable) choice to use a solicitor, but it is not a requirement.

It was my mistake to ask a busy GP to certify the document - I misunderstood the instructions, or they weren't initially clear to me, and I was reeling from the shock of a terminal diagnosis so not thinking clearly.

Only later did I realise I could have asked a friend. So the total cost would have been £82.00 per LPA (there are 2, one for health and welfare, one for property and financial) so the most anyone needs to pay to arrange a LPA is £82.00.

I hope this info helps someone in the future, possibly at a vulnerable time.

Thank you for posting. It's a valuable piece of clarification. Sorry about your situation.