Non-NHS work

The contract between the government and GPs is for providing medical services to NHS patients, which includes ongoing medical treatment. However, GPs are increasingly being asked to perform non-medical work for various organisations, sometimes due to their position of trust in the community or to ensure the accuracy of information provided to insurance
companies or employers.

The British Medical Association (BMA) suggests guidelines for fees for non-NHS work, which is not covered under the GPs NHS contract, to help GPs set their own professional fees. However, the fees are only guidelines and not recommendations, which means a doctor is not obliged to charge the suggested rates.

Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?

Except for certain limited exceptions, such as a GP confirming that a patient is unfit for jury service, GPs are not required to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients.

Although GPs will always attempt to assist their patients in completing forms for insurance purposes, they are not required to do such non-NHS work.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?
The time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of their patients. Most GPs have a heavy workload, and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find that they must complete this work outside of their normal hours.

I only need the doctor’s signature – what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, they must ensure that they only sign what they know to be true to remain on the Medical Register. For even the simplest of forms, the doctor might have to check the patients 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.

How long will it take to process my request?

We aim to complete your request within three weeks from the date it was received. However, it is possible that your request may take longer than this due to excessive requests or if NHS work is backlogged. We are aware that some patients may need non-NHS work completed urgently. We will try our best to complete the work as soon as possible, but there is no
guarantee that this work can be completed within the timeframe specified.

Payment

Please note that all fees for non-NHS work must be paid by cash or card on collection.

If you would like to request a medical report, letter or certificate – please submit your request on our KLINIK Online Consultation Service.