Do you have to pay for a docters note?

jewlls · 18 April 2008 at 11:39AM

Hi, not sure if this is the right place to post, please feel free to move if necessary.

Do you have to pay for a docters note these days, My son is a 17yr old student and the docter says he has to pay £15.00 as you cannot get them on the NHS is this correct?

Jewlls xxx

robpw2 · 18 April 2008 at 11:40AM

no you do not .

robpw2 · 18 April 2008 at 11:41AM

you have to pay for things to be signed etc (that dont concern medical history) but as you can sign yourslef of sick they cannot charge you.

Maybe he thinks your sons "putting it on" and is trying to disuade him

headoutthesand · 18 April 2008 at 12:54PM

If it's a doctors letter to get him excused from attending court as a witness or to allow him to pull out a holiday etc then doctors are within their rights to charge for this.

If it is a sick line to excuse him from work or college/uni then no he should not be paying for it.

Not all GP practices charge for letters and others charge what they like. The most I have heard is £30 for 3 lines!!!

jewlls · 18 April 2008 at 4:13PM

thank you for your replies, yes it was for him to pull out of something.

jewlls xx

hardpressed · 19 April 2008 at 6:20PM

You can only ask your doctor for a sick note if you have been off work for more than seven days, for the first seven days an employer must accept a self certification form SC1 or pay for a private sick note. A letter from your doctor to excuse you from taking an exam etc due to illness is private and has to be paid for.

brightonman123 · 28 April 2008 at 9:54PM

things may have changed since I was off work for quite a while (what I thought was flu was a chest infection, thankfully fully treated with antibiotics, at the 2nd attempt).

if i recall, doctor signed me off for 2 weeks while drups took hold, with a 'come back and see me' if still feeling croc.. work accepted this and let me have a month off- felt a but guilrty as loads of work to do.. though only until i found out others had also gone off too. seemed to be endemic at that place.. withe the stress of catching up / work load, and a follow on bug, i am well out of that place!

oh, and the note was f.o.c.

mr_rush · 28 April 2008 at 11:05PM

What exactly do you mean by a doctor's note?
There's the Med3 form that signs someone off work if they are likely to be sick for more than 5 days. These are completed for free.

A note saying other things for non-NHS work can have a fee attached to it. It is not NHS work and the government does not pay doctors to provide this service. Same if you need a note certifying health clearance to attend the gym. The BMA provide a list of suggested fees for this but it is up to the individual practice what they charge.

As for the price of this service. You are getting a private letter from a very well educated, professional person. What does a solicitor's letter cost someone? 2 weeks ago, I paid £60 to get an insurance quote for my laptop repair. It took 1 min to look at my computer, another minute to type out the quote.

LillyJ · 17 May 2008 at 8:16PM

hardpressed wrote: »

You can only ask your doctor for a sick note if you have been off work for more than seven days, for the first seven days an employer must accept a self certification form SC1 or pay for a private sick note. A letter from your doctor to excuse you from taking an exam etc due to illness is private and has to be paid for.

Med3's are also only for paid work, therefore a doctor cannot legally sign a med3 for a student. They are legal documents and therefore Doctors have to follow the guidelines. With regards to other letters, practices have the right to charge what they like, similar to other professions charging on a private basis.

Do you have to pay for a docters note?

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