Shiregreen Medical Centre

492 Bellhouse Road
Shiregreen
Sheffield
S5 0RG
Telephone – 0114 245 6123
Email – syicb-sheffield.shiregreenmc@nhs.net
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/groups/httpsshiregreenmedicalcentre.co.uk/



Non-NHS Services

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

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.

DO NOT book an appointment with a doctor for the purpose of getting a doctor’s signature or asking a doctor to complete a report for you, this will not be done during consultations.

Why Doctors will no longer do ‘letter of support’.
In common with other GP Practices in the UK the Doctors at this surgery no longer do ‘letters of support’ that are occasionally requested by patients, or their representatives.

The reasons for this are-

  • There is no need – most applications for certain benefits/appeals etc already gathered this information from the GP records, so there is no need to duplicate this in an unofficial capacity. Other forms such as those related to housing/adaptions are not appropriate for GP’s to complete as they have no qualifications in this area.
  • There is no advantage – such letters are often not even looked at, and when they are they carry little or no weight in statutory bodies decision making – despite what you may think.
  • GP’s workload does not allow time for them – no one can be unaware that GP’s workload is at ab unsustainable level, and non-essential activities must be stopped to ensure that the core GP work of seeing and treating ill patients continues, such time consuming and costly work must be stopped.
  • The contract under which GP’s work, means they are under no obligation at all regarding such requests. – This is often not understood by patients or their representatives.

After completing an audit of the numerous uncollected letters our patients have requested from our GP’s at this Practice we have made the decision to stop completing unnecessary requests from patients to write letters of support. This evidences the waste of time and resource this activity is and it is unsustainable for our GP’s to continue to provide this time consuming, costly, non-essential work.

We understand some may be disappointed with this, nonetheless it is an ESSENTIAL move to ensure we continue to meet our primary function. If you were told by an agency for such a letter please given them a copy of this notice. Copies are available from reception.

Thank you, Rachel Kershaw Practice Manager