Revised March 2015
Pembroke Surgery Patient Information on the completion of Non-NHS
work and requests for viewing and copying of medical records
Completion of a Non-NHS form
You have requested that your GP complete some paperwork that is considered to be non
NHS work.
Some forms will be completed free of charge by the GP and come under their contract of
service to complete for patients such as incapacity for work/employment and support
allowance.
Some forms are chargeable, but are also often completed free at the GP’s discretion.
These include for example:
Blue badge application (completion of medical part by GP)
Seat Belt exemption forms
Form completion or medical examinations which are chargeable include:
Accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes
Reports for health clubs to certify that patients are fit to exercise
Pre-employment medicals, as requested by employers
Life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies
Reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with disability
living allowance and attendance allowance
Medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering
DVLA forms
OFSTED reports
Holiday cancellation forms/fit to travel forms/ fit to participate in a diet programme or
drug trial
Private referral forms (to reclaim cost of private treatment)
Private reference forms (requested by would-be employers)
General Passport Applications (The majority of these we can no longer complete
unfortunately due to legislation changes)
Fees payable for completion of non-NHS forms and medical examinations
Generally there are standard national charges for the completion of insurance reports and
medicals and these are paid for by the insurance companies requesting the report or
medical, and the costs are passed back to the customer through administration charges
attached to setting up the policy.
Where the cost is to be met by you personally the Dr will usually wish to see the form
first to ascertain accurately the time it will take him to complete it. A reasonable amount
based on the time taken to complete it will be charged in line with BMA guidelines.
Patients are asked to pay either in advance or at the time of receipt of the completed work
if this has been agreed. Patients with larger sets of medical records clearly involve more
work for the clinician and are charged accordingly, and these requests can also take
longer to process.
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Revised March 2015
Completion Time of Reports
Some forms will be completed as soon as possible by the doctor. These forms are
generally those which affect a person’s income directly (E.g. Reports for the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with disability living
allowance and attendance allowance)
Please expect around a week for completion of these, unless there are exceptional
circumstances. (GP away for example)
Life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies we try to turn
around within 21 working days, unless there are exception circumstances (GP away
for example)
Questions and Answers and about the completion of non NHS forms
Isn't the NHS supposed to be free?
The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but
there are exceptions: prescription charges have existed since 1951 and there are a number
of other services for which fees are charged. Sometimes the charge is made to cover some
of the cost of treatment, for example, dental fees; in other cases, it is because the service
is not covered by the NHS, for example, providing copies of health records or producing
medical reports for insurance companies.
Surely the doctor is being paid anyway?
It is important to understand that many GPs are not employed by the NHS; they are selfemployed and they have to cover their costs - staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc - in
the same way as any small business. The NHS covers these costs for NHS work, but for
non-NHS work, the fees charged by GPs contribute towards their costs. Also the GP’s
work in their own time (evenings/weekends) to complete these reports.
What is covered by the NHS and what is not?
The Government's contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients, including
the provision of ongoing medical treatment. In recent years, however, more and more
organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work.
Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in
the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to ensure that
information provided to them is true and accurate.
Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients are:
 Accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes
 Reports for health clubs to certify that patients are fit to exercise
 Pre-employment medicals, as requested by employers
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Revised March 2015
Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:
 Life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies
 Reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with
disability living allowance and attendance allowance
 Medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering
Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?
With certain limited exceptions, for example a GP confirming that one of their patients is
not fit for jury service, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their
patients. Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of
forms, for example 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?
Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical
care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up
an increasing amount of their time, so many GPs find they have to take some paperwork
home at night and weekends.
I only need the doctor's signature - what is the problem?
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. In order 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.
What will I be charged?
The BMA recommends that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what
the fee will be. It is up to individual doctors to decide how much they will charge, but the
BMA produces lists of suggested fees which many doctors use. Surgeries often have lists
of fees on the waiting room wall based on these suggested fees.
What can I do to help?
Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You
can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge. Due
to passport legislation changes since 2012 Simple Registration at a surgery is no longer
sufficient to enable a GP to verify a patient’s identity. Therefore regrettably we will not
complete these any more to avoid disappointment and incurred cost to you for us to
complete them, if the passport request is then later refused.
If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP
if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.
Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight: urgent requests may mean that a
doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this will cost
more.
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Viewing and copying of patient records
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All living Patients are entitled to view or obtain copies of their medical records under
the Data Protection Act (1998). However, the doctor will need to go through the
medical records beforehand in order to authorise the complete record for viewing or
copying. This is due to the fact that the doctor retains the right to refuse the request of
the patient to view all records if it would be detrimental to the patient’s health,
although this situation would be extremely rare.
The patient will need to make an appointment to view their medical records. This can
be arranged to take place in the practice manager’s office at a time when the practice
manager is able to accompany the patient whilst they view their records
An appointment will be half an hour long and will be supervised by a member of
staff; this is because we are only custodians of the medical records, they are neither,
the patient’s property or ours. Therefore, we are not allowed to leave a patient alone
with their medical records in case records are tampered with or removed.
Technically permission should be sought from all those professionals contributing to
the patients written records, prior to the patient actually viewing their records.
Copies of Patient Records
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If, alternatively, the patient wishes to have photocopies of their medical records, this
can be done after the doctor’s authorisation. Appropriate administration charges will
be made for this service, based on the size of the notes. The patient will also be asked
to pay in advance for this service following an estimate of approximate cost and an
invoice being sent to the patient first.
This service is also provided to solicitors/Insurance companies etc on behalf of
patients and with the patient’s written consent.
The maximum cost currently to provide these copies is based on a £10 charge levied
under The Data Protection Act for computerised records and an additional maximum
administration charge of up to £50 for staff time and stationary/postage cost for the
copying of a mix of computerised and manual records.
Under the data protection Act copies of medical notes must be supplied to requesters
within 40 days and the surgery has an obligation to provide the requester of the note
copies within 21 days with a response to confirm that we are complying with their
request for copies of their medical records.
N.B. Deceased patient’s medical records are viewed or copied under the “Access to
Medical Records Act 1990” In general these records are returned to storage facilities with
the Thames Valley Primary Care Agency when a patient deduction of death has been
confirmed across the registration overnight link. Access to these records would be carried
out by contacting the Agency itself for further information. The requester will need to
prove their “next of kin” status or obtain the permission of the “next of Kin” in order to
access the records.
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