Non-NHS Work

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges. Examples include the following:

  • Medicals for pre-employment, sports and driving requirements (HGV, PSV etc.)
  • Insurance claim forms
  • General letters or confirmation letters
  • Private sick notes
  • Vaccination certificates

For a list of our fees, please refer to Regent Street Surgery Non-NHS services fees list.

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

It can take up to 28 days to turn around a form, questionnaire or report so please be mindful of this when submitting it. For more information regarding timescales, please see the Q&As below.

Unfortunately, we are unable to complete Mental Capacity Assessments or Power of Attorney Assessments.

We do not have a card facility at the surgery. Payment can be made via cheque or cash. Please make cheques payable to Regent Street Surgery.

Non-NHS Services FAQs

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. Our GPs do non-NHS work out of NHS time at evenings and weekends so that NHS patient care does not suffer.

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.

If you are a new patient we may not have your medical records so the doctor must wait for these before completing the form.

What will I be charged

It is recommended that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what the fee will be. It is up to the individual doctors to decide how much they will charge. The surgery has a list of fees which can be viewed at the link above.

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. Read the information that comes with these types of forms carefully before requesting your GP to complete them. 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 may cost more. Usually non-NHS work will take up to 28 days.