What are they?
Private Medicals are non-NHS related requests such as private letters for external parties (e.g. for Freedom Pass, Disability Badge and Personal Independence Payment applications), health insurance claim forms, DVLA forms, and others. These requests will incur a charge. All charges are disclosed against each request item.
Why are they not free?
The NHS provides most healthcare services to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions – such as Private Medicals – that are not covered by the NHS. GPs are contracted by the NHS to provide primary medical services, but because the NHS does not cover Private Medicals, GPs offer these services outside of their full-time NHS-work and need to charge a fee to cover GP time.
How long do they take to complete?
Private medicals can take up to 30 working days for GPs to fulfil, as per the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR). Our practice aims to complete requests within 30 working days from the day payment is made.