Private Letters and Reports

Step by Step Process for letter requests

  1. You put your request in writing at the front desk in reception.
  2. The receptionist will then take payment upfront. This is usually £30. The 30 days to complete the work starts now.
  3. The request will go to our admin team who will then record on your medical record that we have your request.
  4. The admin team will then look at who is the next GP to receive this admin work and then assign it to them.
  5. The clinician then completes the work within the time frame and passes it back to our admin team
  6. The admin team will contact you when the work is ready to be picked up.

Why is there a charge?

The cost of these letters and reports are not covered by the NHS. They are completed during the GP’s own time and as such there is a fee payable. All letters require the doctor to take time to review a patient’s medical records to ensure that the information provided is correct, then the doctor has to dictate the letter, and finally the admin team has to type and print it.

 

Whats the timescale?

Your GP receives a large number of requests on a daily basis, and private letters and reports do not take priority over NHS work. Therefore please allow up to 30 days for any requests to be fulfilled.

Please do not contact the practice within this time period unless you are providing additional information that is relevant to your request.

Requests are handled on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis.

Please note

We will not accept requests for ‘the doctor must write these exact words’. The GP will write what they know, supported by your medical record. Both the letter and the opinion they produce is final and you cannot request changes to be made. The GP has the right to refuse your request or provide alternative wording if they feel it is necessary.

If you insist on the GP changing your letter to suit what you think it should say, or if you want to dictate the contents, we will withdraw our offer to write the letter. Please remember, the doctor is not obliged to write a letter for you at all, as this is not an NHS requirement.