Private Work and Non-NHS Requests – Practice Guidance
What is Private (Non-NHS) Work?
Private work refers to services that fall outside the NHS contract. GP practices are not contracted, funded, or resourced by the NHS to provide these services. As a result, such work is undertaken at the discretion of the practice.
Examples of private work include, but are not limited to:
- Private medical letters
- Insurance or employer forms
- Fitness to travel or fitness for work letters (non-statutory)
- Supporting letters for housing, schools, or legal matters not required under NHS regulations
Requests for Private Letters
Requests for private letters are not part of NHS-funded clinical care and therefore fall outside the NHS contract. GP practices are not obligated to provide private letters, and we are within our rights to decline such requests.
Where private work is agreed:
- Letters and forms will be completed solely using factual information already documented in the patient’s medical record
- GPs cannot provide opinions, assumptions, or information not supported by the medical record
- Patients may indicate a preferred GP, however this cannot be guaranteed and requests will be allocated at the practice’s discretion
Reasons a Request May Be Declined
Private letter requests will be declined for one or more of the following reasons:
- The information requested is not documented in your GP medical record
- The request falls outside the scope of what a GP can appropriately provide. GPs can confirm documented medical conditions but cannot advocate, petition, or write on a patient’s behalf in matters not supported by clinical evidence
- There has been insufficient recent clinical contact on your record to support the information requested
- The information requested does not correspond with, or is not supported by, your documented medical history
We would encourage patients to review the above before submitting a request.
Important: Accuracy of Information
When submitting a private letter request, patients are required to confirm that the information provided is accurate and that the content requested is already documented in their GP medical record.
Submitting a request that contains inaccurate information, or information not supported by your medical records, will be considered a breach of practice policy and may result in your removal from the practice list due to a breakdown of the GP-patient relationship.
Capacity and Clinical Priority
GP time is primarily dedicated to providing essential NHS medical care. Completing private work, particularly writing letters, takes GPs away from the care of patients with medical needs.
For this reason:
- Private work may be declined due to workload or staffing pressures
- Requests may take longer to process than NHS services
- Approval of one request does not guarantee future requests will be accepted
Fees
As private work is not NHS-funded, fees may apply. Any applicable charges will be communicated in advance. Payment is required before work is undertaken.
- Private Letter: Standard request: £50 – letter ready within 7 days of payment
- Private Letter: Urgent request: £70 – letter ready within 3 working days of payment
Our Right to Decline
The practice reserves the right to refuse requests for private work, including private letters, at its discretion. This includes requests that:
- Require GP opinion rather than factual medical evidence
- Cannot be supported by the medical record
- Would significantly impact the delivery of NHS services
Summary
- Private letters and forms are non-NHS services
- GPs are not contracted or obligated to provide private work
- Requests are completed only from existing medical records
- Patients may indicate a preferred GP but this cannot be guaranteed
- The practice may decline requests to protect NHS patient care
- Submitting inaccurate information is a breach of practice policy and may result in your removal from the practice list due to a breakdown of the GP-patient relationship.