Non-NHS Services

As long as you fit the criteria for NHS care, most services will be free at the point of delivery. The common exception is prescription charges.

NHS charges

However, NHS patients occasionally need care that is outside of what the NHS covers. This can include forms and medicals where somebody else pays, eg:

• armed-forces medical assessments
• mortgage/life insurance medicals

The patient may also need to pay for other services such as:

• fitness to fly certificates
• private sicknotes for work
• medical assessment for working abroad (camp America and similar schemes)

The charges for such services are based on the time taken to complete the examination necessary (if required at all), a review of your notes current and past and administration time in preparing and filing reports. 

The commonest complaint is that an individual perceives the form as a quick sign-it and leave, as there isn’t much detail on the form. Often though a doctor is signing to say that they are happy with their knowledge of a patient, that they will be safe in a certain scenario. This can only be assessed by:

• being familiar with the whole patient history (requires reviewing of all old notes)
• and in some cases may include physically assessing the patient (level of detailed determined by form or by the intended activity)

Forms

There is a file at reception, in which we keep copies of the common forms that students require completing. These have each been assessed and the file tells the receptionist how long to book and what to charge. These fees and times are not negotiable so please do not ask. We would ask that you check with the desk before seeing the doctor as this often wastes an appointment and requires you return on another day.

Do not leave forms till the last minute as we may not be able to complete your form in time. We are not compelled to complete any non-NHS work but do so for the convenience of our practice but never to the detriment of our NHS duties, which always come first.