Requests for Private Letters

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If you make a request for a private, non-NHS service letter, this is not provided for under the terms of the NHS Primary Care Services contract. Your GP may be able to undertake such work for you, but, as this is a private service, you will incur a charge for completion of your request and the decision whether they can provide the letter rests with the GP.

We will only complete factual responses. We cannot give an opinion. When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. To complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the doctor might have to check the patient’s entire medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.

Examples of documents we are unable to provide include:

• Confirmation of address or other proof of residence or ID (We have no means of verifying this)
• Countersigning passport applications
• Letters stating something that is not supported by your medical record
• Fitness to fly or travel letters
• Fitness for sport of leisure activities

If in doubt we will refuse to complete the request and may issue a copy of medical records instead with your consent.

A GP’s NHS work must take priority. Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. All GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of our time and detracts from providing essential NHS care to our patients.

Please be aware we charge for any requests. Please see below for our full scale of charges. Payment will be requested before the letter is released.

If you wish to proceed, we will usually commit to complete the work that you have requested within 28 working days from the date of submission. Should this not be possible, for example due to GP holidays or requests for a larger than normal piece of work, our staff will contact you.