What a Private GP Cannot Do

Most private GP websites are a list of what the service can do. That is understandable, and it is also how people end up paying for an appointment that was never going to help them.

So here is the other list. Nine things a private GP cannot do — or in our case, will not — and what to do instead.

1. We cannot refer you into NHS care

This is the most important one and the one most often left vague.

Only a GP working within the NHS can make an NHS referral. Not for a fee, not urgently, not under any circumstances. If you need NHS specialist care — including an urgent two-week-wait cancer pathway — that referral has to come from your own NHS practice.

We can refer you privately, and we can write to your NHS GP setting out what we found and why it needs acting on. Where something is urgent we do that the same day rather than leaving you to relay it. But we cannot put you on an NHS list, and any service implying otherwise is misleading you.

2. We cannot examine you

A video call cannot listen to your chest, feel your abdomen, examine a joint, look inside an ear, or perform an internal examination.

For a great deal of general practice this does not matter — the history is what makes the diagnosis, and skin conditions are frequently easier to assess from a good photograph than from a description. But where the answer depends on examination, remote care is not a slightly worse option. It is the wrong option, and we will say so and refund you rather than attempt it anyway.

3. We do not prescribe controlled drugs on an ongoing basis

No Schedule 2 or 3 controlled drug is prescribed remotely at all — no strong opioids, no ADHD stimulants, no tramadol, temazepam, gabapentin or pregabalin. A private prescription for those must be written on a form this service does not hold, so it is not a matter of persuasion. Benzodiazepines and z-drugs sitting in Schedule 4, such as diazepam and zopiclone, are never started remotely and are not prescribed as ongoing treatment — the sole exception being a rare one-off bridging supply where you are already established on one and have run out.

This is a firm line rather than a preference. Remote prescribing of these carries well-documented risks and GMC guidance is clear that it is rarely appropriate. What we can do is refer you to a specialist who can assess and initiate properly, and discuss shared care once you are established and stable.

If another online service offers to start you on a controlled drug after a short remote consultation, that should give you pause rather than reassurance.

4. We cannot see your NHS record

We see what you tell us. Your NHS practice holds a record going back decades — childhood illnesses, past results, everything ever prescribed — and we do not have access to it.

That is the single strongest argument for staying registered with an NHS GP, and it is why we ask for your medication list and history properly rather than assuming.

5. We are not an emergency service

We are open 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. Outside those hours we are closed, and at no hour are we an emergency service.

Chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe breathlessness, heavy bleeding, a suicidal crisis — these need 999 or A&E now, not an appointment later. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day.

6. We cannot issue an NHS fit note

We issue private fit notes, and they are accepted by most employers. But a private note is not an NHS Med 3, and it cannot be used to claim statutory benefits such as ESA. Those require a note from an NHS clinician.

Also worth knowing: for the first seven days of illness you can self-certify and do not legally need a note at all, whatever your employer implies.

7. We cannot do a DVLA D4 medical

The D4 requires formally measured visual acuity and visual fields. That cannot be done down a video call, so we do not offer it — you need a provider who can test your vision in person.

The same applies to any medical requiring measured hearing, or a physical examination we cannot perform.

8. We do not diagnose ADHD or autism

Diagnosis requires a structured specialist assessment covering childhood history and collateral information from someone who knew you as a child. It is not a twenty-minute conversation, and any service offering it as one should be treated with caution.

What we can do is have a proper discussion about whether assessment is warranted, provide a private referral letter, and screen for the conditions that overlap or mimic — thyroid disease, iron deficiency, sleep disorders and perimenopause among them.

9. We do not assess babies under three months, or any unwell baby under one

Small babies deteriorate quickly and the signs that matter are found by examining them. Under three months we do not assess remotely at all. Between three months and one year we see well babies with non-acute problems — a rash, feeding, reflux, sleep. Any unwell or feverish infant under one needs to be seen in person the same day, whatever their age in months.

If you book and it turns out your baby needs examining, we will say so in the first few minutes and refund you.

Why publish this

Two reasons, and neither is modesty.

The first is practical. An appointment that cannot help you is a bad outcome for both of us — you have paid for nothing and we have wasted your time. Being specific about the limits means the people who book are the people we can actually help.

The second is that vagueness about limits is a warning sign in healthcare. A service that will not tell you what it cannot do is either unclear about its own boundaries or hoping you will not notice. Neither is what you want from a doctor.

What we can do

Twenty-minute consultations rather than ten. Same-day appointments, 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. Prescriptions to your own pharmacy. Letters and referrals within ten minutes. Blood tests and scans arranged and, more importantly, explained. And a straight answer when the answer is that you need something we do not provide.

If you are unsure whether your problem is something we can help with, the honest answer is usually available in a short email before you book. Ask us.