How much for a doctors letter?

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Comments

  • Amiss
    Amiss Posts: 114 Forumite
    funguy wrote: »
    How can you comment that it is a ridiculous amount when no one is aware of how much patient data was required and how long it took to complete etc etc. Its like saying £73 is a ridiculous amount to replace tiles on a roof?!?!

    It is a ridiculous amount and I understand-Doctors are very special and can charge/do what they want because they are doctors:rolleyes:
    I still want to know what the £73 was for.
  • hi i asked for a gp letter a few weeks ago an was told it ranged from 15 -50 pounds , so i asked for a 20 pound one and it was full of information ,so dont know what the 50 would have contained :confused:
  • Glamazon
    Glamazon Posts: 8,401 Forumite
    Managing a GP surgery we always get complaints about having to pay for this, my response is always the same.....

    This is non-NHS work therefore not covered under the contract that the GP holds with the PCT. Even if a form just needs a signature because a patient has filled it out, the GP still has to check all the information against the medical records to ensure that what he/she is signing their name against is correct. We can get up to 50 requests per week for this kind of work including writing letters to say people are fit to travel, perform, exercise, holiday cancellation forms, army medicals, private sick notes, shotgun licenses, the list is endless. I employ a part time member of staff to deal with all of these requests, our medical secretary has 'non NHS' time to type up reports and of course the GP's time which takes the most.

    Why should the NHS provide letters free of charge to help people claim money back?! £73 is not a ridiculous amount as someone has pointed out it could have been a very lengthy report which required a lot of time. If I billed patients for the actual amount of time the form took from start to finish and based that payment on how much we have to pay a locum GP per hour - patients would be keeling over with shock.

    General practice is now very competitive and is also the a business which some people always seem to forget. People moan about GP salaries but if you saw the hoops that have to be jumped through and the work involved outside 'just seeing patients' you can see it is almost jusitifed.
    (note the almost :rotfl: )
    A very busy Yummy Mummy to a 1 year old gorgeous boy :smileyhea

    Where does the time go? :think:
  • Toothsmith
    Toothsmith Posts: 10,072
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    Amiss wrote: »
    It is a ridiculous amount and I understand-Doctors are very special and can charge/do what they want because they are doctors:rolleyes:
    I still want to know what the £73 was for.

    How can you say "it is a ridiculous amount" on one line, and admit you don't know what it was for on another!!

    :confused::confused::confused:
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    4. Only book initial appointment when you find a place you are happy with.
  • lana22
    lana22 Posts: 329 Forumite
    Amiss wrote: »
    £73 is a ridiculous amount!
    I suppose a Dr deserves some financial recompense for services rendered but..was he using gold ink?!:rotfl:

    So I suppose you have filled in lots of medical forms in the past, and know precisely what it entails? I suppose you have gone to medical school for 6 years, then trained for a further decade in order to be able to write the form in the first place? And you also risk your career if you make a mistake on the form or are given incorrect information?

    No? Thought not. How much does it cost you to get your solicitor to write your will?
    "deserves some financial recompense"? Doctors aren't charitable organisations! They don't work for some token payment that you see fit! If they are working their full time hours then filling in your forms when they could be at home spending time with their families, then they deserve the proper rate of pay that a highly qualified professional commands.
  • xycom1
    xycom1 Posts: 784 Forumite
    Perhaps if people had to pay the cost of their 10 minute GP appointments, they might appreciate where the £73 price comes from. :|
  • annie_d
    annie_d Posts: 933 Forumite
    In the past i have written the letter myself and just asked the GP to sign it which he has done without charging a fee
  • funguy
    funguy Posts: 598
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    I think people just dont realise how much the cost of a 10 minute GP appointment actually is. I think the figure is around £15 in the NHS and £25 privately in the UK although private appointments tend to be 20mins long and cost about £50. Less than half this cost is actually the GP cost - the rest being building/staff/heating etc etc...
    Then the prescription which costs a set NHS Fee can cost the NHS more than 10 times that amount so all in all we get a pretty good deal most of the time.
    The cost of a GP appointment in France and Sweden is approximately £15 - £20 for 10mins.
  • Just an inquiry re: medical letter costs

    Is it a flat fee regardless of your income? I ask because I am on £60.50 income support, and signed off sick with depression/anxiety from my doctor. Whether a letter would cost £12 or more, its a chunk out of such a little income.

    All I need is something verifying my health condition, no great detail or anything? It seems very harsh if you get charged the same regardless of being on £60.50 or £200+ a week :confused:

    I appreciate the comments made re: extra work for GP's, but surely a brief note of a few sentences doesnt merit a £12 fee??
  • Nicki
    Nicki Posts: 8,166 Forumite
    donnydiva wrote: »
    Just an inquiry re: medical letter costs

    Is it a flat fee regardless of your income? I ask because I am on £60.50 income support, and signed off sick with depression/anxiety from my doctor. Whether a letter would cost £12 or more, its a chunk out of such a little income.

    All I need is something verifying my health condition, no great detail or anything? It seems very harsh if you get charged the same regardless of being on £60.50 or £200+ a week :confused:

    I appreciate the comments made re: extra work for GP's, but surely a brief note of a few sentences doesnt merit a £12 fee??

    I've never been charged for something which is directly related to my illness IYSWIM. So in the past when I've been off work ill, the doctor has never charged me for any letters he has written to my employer giving an opinion on when I would be likely to be fit for work, and I don't think he would have charged had I been on benefits to certify to the Benefits Agency that I was ill.

    The only occasions I have been charged are for letters doing a private referral to a consultant, signing off on a form to reclaim private medical costs from an insurer, or to say I was fit to undertake an activity when pregnant. o really things which were a bit more optional.

    Not sure if this is universal or just my GP though. You could always ask your own. I'm sure the charge is discretionary and able to be waived if the letter is essential and it would cause financial hardship to pay for it.
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