Baronscourt Surgery 2023
MEDICALS, LETTERS AND FORMS

Baronscourt Surgery 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 Baronscourt Surgery limit the amount of private (non-NHS) work they do. If you request non-NHS work from Baronscourt Surgery, the request may be declined and you may need to consult a private doctor instead.
This leaflet explains what Baronscourt Surgery does and does not provide. If you have queries about this policy, please speak to the Practice Manager.

An important note about Medical Records
You have the right to view your medical records. Please make your application in writing to the Practice Manager. You may have copies of your records. Before giving you access to your records, we are obliged by law to check the records for any confidential or third-party information.

ITEMS WE CAN PROVIDE FREE OF CHARGE

IMPORTANT: PLEASE ALLOW A MINIMUM OF 5 DAYS FOR THESE FORMS & 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 after 7 days absence or more and ONLY for the purposes of sick pay or benefits.

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 by your midwife.

Referral letters to NHS or Private Hospitals
Referral letters to hospitals, secondary care and other healthcare providers and organisations are done by our clinicians.

ITEMS WE MAY PROVIDE FOR A FEE

IMPORTANT: PLEASE ALLOW A MINIMUM OF 1 WEEK FOR THESE FORMS & CERTIFICATES TO BE COMPLETED. FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE

Adoption/ Fostering Medicals
Please book a thirty minute appointment for these.

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.

HGV & Taxi driver medical examinations
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 book the correct appointment for you. Please note, for HGV medicals you will need to attend an optician first, to have the eyesight section signed before seeing the doctor.
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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
Baronscourt Surgery 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.

ITEMS WE DO NOT PROVIDE

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.
Baronscourt Surgery 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
Edinburgh 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
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.

Weight Loss Injections

We have received a high volume of queries regarding prescribing of weight loss injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro following the published approval by National Institute for Clinical Excellence and Scottish Medicines Consortium. However the funding for this has not yet been agreed either centrally by Scottish Government or locally by any Health Board in Scotland and therefore GPs are not in a position to prescribe these medications. We have also been advised by NHS Lothian against referring to the Lothian Weight Management Service specifically for Weight loss injections at this time. We will update this section once we have received approved guidance regarding this. Please do not make an appointment to discuss this any further as we will not be able to take this forward.

Some services provided are not covered under our contract with the NHS and therefore attract charges. 

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

Click on the link below to download a list of our current fees:

Non NHS Work - Feb 2024.docx

Please note the following important points:

• As providers of NHS primary medical services, we are unable to carry out investigations requested by a private healthcare professional. However, we can provide you with a summary of your medical records should you wish to share these with the private provider to help inform their decisions.

• We are unable to give an opinion on suitability of a treatment plan proposed by a private provider. However, as above, if you would like a summary of your medical records to share with your private provider, we would be happy to supply this to you.