PRIVATE WORK LIMITATIONS SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2026
Dee Valley Medical Practice is experiencing unavoidable staff absence and we must prioritise Core NHS Service delivery.
Our administrative department and clinicians do not have capacity to undertake non-NHS work until further notice.
We are sorry for any inconvenience. Other providers are available and can be found online.
What is non-NHS work and why is there a fee?
The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions. Sometimes the charge is because the service is not covered by the NHS, i.e. producing medical reports for insurance companies, solicitors or employers.
Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients are:
- Accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes
- Holiday insurance certificates
- Army medical report
- Police questionnaire
- Firearms
- Adoption and fostering medicals
- Driving medical (HGV, Taxi and TFL)
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?
Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, they are not required to do such non-NHS work. Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of their patients. Our GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time. When they can attend to it, our GPs do non-NHS work out of NHS time at evenings or 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.
