Non-NHS services

Folly Lane Medical Centre is proud to offer quality General Practice care to our patients under the terms of our NHS contract. Unfortunately, General Practice across the UK is currently under severe pressure. Some types of work which have been traditionally done by GPs are not actually NHS work and do not form part of our NHS contract.

In order to provide good NHS care, the doctors at Folly Lane Medical Centre limit the amount of private (non-NHS) work they do. If you request non-NHS work from Folly Lane Medical Centre, the request may be declined and you may need to consult a private doctor instead.

This policy explains what Folly Lane Medical Centre does and does not provide. If you have queries about this policy, please speak to the Practice Manager.

IMPORTANT: Please allow a minimum of 3 days for these forms and certificates to be completed. Please direct any queries about these to Reception.

Fit for work certificates – (Commonly known as sick notes, officially called Med3 certificates). These are ONLY issued for 7 days or more and ONLY for the purposes of sick pay or benefits.

MatB1 forms, Maternity Exemption certificates & Healthy Start forms – These can usually be issued by your midwife.

Prescription Charge Exemption certificates – Only if you fulfil the strict criteria set out on the forms.

Referral letters to NHS or Private Hospitals – Referral letters to hospitals, secondary care and other healthcare providers and organisations are dealt with by our secretarial team. Please contact them if you have any queries about your referral.

IMPORTANT: Please allow a minimum of 1 week for these forms and certificates to be completed.  Fees are payable in advance.

These items are overseen by our receptionist, Janet. She can advise you on fees for specific items after discussion with the doctors and she can liaise with solicitors and insurance companies if required.

Adoption/ Fostering Medicals – These are not done in the doctors clinics and will be booked separately.

Flying/Travelling with Insulin or other medications -All injectable medications in hand luggage will require a certificate. This also applies to carrying certain other drugs, even tablets, when entering certain countries. If in doubt, consult your airline, travel agent or the embassy of the country you intend to visit.

Fitness to Fly during Pregnancy – Usually required by the airline if flying (or returning) after 28 weeks, and can be supplied if you have a healthy uncomplicated singleton pregnancy. The midwife can sign these.

HGV & Taxi driver medical examinations – These are not done in the doctors clinics and will be booked separately. These require a long appointment and there is a charge, please make sure you tell the receptionist which medical you need so that she can liaise with the doctors regarding this. Please note, for HGV medicals you will need to attend an optician first, to have the eyesight section signed before seeing the doctor.

Medical examinations for leisure activities – We do not offer medical examinations for sports – see the following activities for further information.

Private Sick Notes – If your employer requires a sick note for less than 7 days’ absence, we can supply one with your written permission. The employer is responsible for our fee.

Shotgun and Firearms Licence Applications – Folly Lane Medical Centre does not support firearms licence applications. The decision about fitness to own, hold or renew a firearms or shotgun licence rests entirely with the Police force. However, we are obliged to cooperate with the police by checking your medical records at the start and renewal of your licence, and adding a ‘flag’. A fee is payable by the patient for this work.

Statement of fact – Occasionally a patient is required to provide evidence of living in a certain place and being registered as a patient at the surgery. A fee is payable in advance.

Applications for Passports, Visas, Character references – The organisations supplying these forms will be able to suggest alternative signatories.

Fitness for Exercise or Gym – We encourage all our patients to exercise as it is generally very good for you. The risk that harm would come to you by exercising is low; however we cannot guarantee that it is 100% safe for anyone to exercise. The risk is entirely between you and your gym instructor.

Fitness for Parachute Jumps, Mountain Climbing, Diving, etc – Folly Lane Medical Centre cannot advise on fitness to partake in dangerous activities such as parachute jumps, mountain climbing, diving as this is outside our field of expertise and not part of the NHS service. Please ask your instructor about any concerns you have regarding safety for these activities. We can supply a print-out of your medical records for their consideration. Diving medicals are a highly specialised area of medicine, and your diving instructor can advise you how to find a suitably qualified doctor to assess your fitness to dive.

Letters about Housing – Warrington Borough Council does not require GP letters when you seek housing or rehousing, even on medical grounds. You are entitled to a print-out of your medical record if you believe this will assist your application.

Letters about Missing a Court Appearance – Missing a court appearance is a very serious matter. We will only provide a letter to the court if we are requested or ordered to do so by the court. Your solicitor can advise you further.

Letters about Missed Exams or Problems with 11+

There is no obligation on GPs to provide sick notes for schools or for missed exams. Usually the school can request special consideration.

Recording Injuries for Insurance – Attending the surgery because your insurer asks you to record injuries from a car accident is not an NHS service, and is not appropriate. Your insurance company can arrange a private medical examination if necessary.

Recording Injuries for Police – In the case of an alleged assault, a police doctor must assess and document injuries. This is not an NHS service and we are not trained to do this work to the legal standard required.

Will-Writing Capacity (testamentary capacity) & Power of Attorney – Testamentary capacity is a highly specialised area of medico-legal practice with important implications for the patient and their family. Therefore we recommend that the solicitor seek an expert opinion, for example from a private consultant psycho-geriatrician.

Power of Attorney does not usually require a doctor’s opinion or signature – if your lawyer feels that a doctor’s input is necessary, he or she should arrange for a private expert to provide this.