Not all services at the Practice are available under the NHS.  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
• Prescriptions for taking medication abroad
• Private sick notes
• Vaccination certificates etc

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

It normally takes four to six weeks for completion starting from the date of your payment.  If you require a swifter service the fee associated will be higher.

Ratby Medical Centre is no longer able to complete DVLA driver licensing reports for patients.

The fees currently provided by the DVLA for these services were last agreed upon in 2004, over 20 years ago. Since then, there has been a significant rise in staff costs, inflation, and the increasing demands on general practice. As a result, these fees no longer cover the administrative and clinical time required to complete the forms.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has outlined in its guidance that the current rates for DVLA reports substantially underestimate the true burden on GP practices. Due to this, practices like ours, as well as others across the country, are finding it increasingly difficult to offer these services without placing a strain on our resources. Continuing to process these forms at the current rates is becoming unsustainable and impacts our ability to provide essential NHS services to all of our patients.

It is also worth noting that, more often than not, the DVLA is able to complete your forms without the need for GP information. In some cases, they will also pay a higher fee request to cover the administrative costs if a report is still needed.

We strongly urge the DVLA to review and update the fee structure to reflect the actual costs of delivering these services. Until such a revision takes place, we regret that we will be unable to process any DVLA reports. 

We understand that this may be frustrating, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused but we cannot provide servies which make a loss to the practice and detract from our core NHS work.