Extremely common in the UK, easily corrected, and worth measuring rather than guessing.
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Vitamin D is made in the skin from sunlight. Between October and March, UK sunlight is too weak at our latitude to produce any at all — which is why deficiency here is the norm rather than the exception.
It matters for bone health, muscle function and immune regulation. What it does not do is most of what the internet claims, and it is worth being clear about that.
Mild deficiency very often causes no symptoms at all, which is why testing rather than waiting is the sensible approach.
25-hydroxyvitamin D is the correct measurement. It reflects your stores and is the only test that should be used.
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is not a screening test and is sometimes offered privately — it can be normal or even high in someone genuinely deficient, so it misleads.
Often not, and this is worth saying on a page that could simply sell one.
UK advice is that everyone should consider a daily supplement through autumn and winter — so for most people, taking a cheap supplement is simpler and cheaper than measuring first.
Testing earns its place where deficiency is likely to be severe or where the result changes management: bone pain or muscle weakness, malabsorption, a history of fractures, very limited sun exposure, or before starting treatment for osteoporosis.
Calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone where levels are very low — severe long-standing deficiency affects bone chemistry and occasionally reveals a parathyroid problem instead.
Coeliac disease is worth considering where deficiency is severe or recurs despite supplementation, since malabsorption is the cause that does not respond to more tablets.
A 25-OH vitamin D test is the correct measurement, and it is worth having before supplementing — both to size the dose and to have a baseline.
Correction is straightforward. Severe deficiency needs a loading regimen followed by maintenance; mild deficiency needs maintenance alone. Calcium and bone profile are checked where levels are very low.
You will also get a straight answer about what supplementing will and will not achieve. Very high doses are not better and can cause harm.
Vitamin D deficiency is not an emergency.
However, excessive supplementation can cause dangerously high calcium — nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, confusion and passing large volumes of urine. Stop the supplement and seek same-day medical advice.
Between roughly October and March, UK sunlight is too weak at our latitude to produce any vitamin D at all — regardless of how much time you spend outside or how bright the day looks.
Official UK advice is that everyone should consider 10 micrograms (400 IU) daily through autumn and winter, and year-round for people with darker skin, limited sun exposure, or who cover up outdoors.
Healthy Start vitamins are free for eligible pregnant women and young children, and some local schemes provide free vitamin D more widely.
It is worth asking rather than assuming you have to buy it.
Very high doses do not produce better outcomes and can cause harm — raising calcium to dangerous levels.
Weekly or monthly mega-doses have in some studies been associated with more falls and fractures, not fewer. Daily modest dosing is the safer and better-evidenced approach.
It will protect bone and muscle health, which is what it is for.
It will not prevent respiratory infections to any meaningful degree, treat depression, or do most of what is claimed for it online. Correcting a genuine deficiency helps; taking large amounts on top of adequate levels does not.
Vitamin D supplements cost a few pounds a year in a supermarket, and that is the treatment. There is very rarely any reason to pay for a consultation about vitamin D, and we would say so.
The UK government advises everyone to consider a daily 10 microgram (400 IU) supplement between October and March, and year-round for people with limited sun exposure, darker skin, or who cover up. That advice applies without any testing at all, which is the key point.
Routine vitamin D testing is not recommended in people without symptoms or risk factors, and it is one of the most over-requested tests in the NHS. Buying a private vitamin D test in order to decide whether to take a cheap, safe supplement is spending more on the question than the answer costs.
Where testing is genuinely warranted is bone pain, proximal muscle weakness, a history of fragility fracture, malabsorption, or symptoms suggesting osteomalacia — and those are worth a consultation.
What we will be honest about: high-dose vitamin D is not better, and very high intakes cause harm — hypercalcaemia, kidney stones and kidney damage. The megadose supplement market and vitamin D injections sold privately are not supported by evidence.
Vitamin D deficiency has become a popular explanation for tiredness, and correcting it frequently does not resolve the fatigue — which usually means something else was responsible.
NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary, Vitamin D deficiency in adults, is the principal reference. It recommends against routine testing in asymptomatic people, reserving it for those with symptoms or risk factors for deficiency.
NICE PH56, Vitamin D: supplement use in specific population groups, and SACN (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition) guidance underpin the UK recommendation of 10 micrograms daily for everyone during autumn and winter, and year-round for at-risk groups.
CKS sets treatment regimens — loading doses for confirmed deficiency followed by maintenance — and defines deficiency, insufficiency and adequacy by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level.
CKS warns against excessive supplementation, noting the risk of hypercalcaemia, hypercalciuria and nephrolithiasis.
NICE NG226 and the Royal Osteoporosis Society cover vitamin D and calcium in bone health, recommending correction of deficiency rather than universal high-dose supplementation.
For most people, just take the supplement. UK advice is that everyone should consider one through autumn and winter, and a year's supply costs a few pounds.
Testing is worth it where deficiency is likely to be severe or where the result changes what happens — bone pain, muscle weakness, malabsorption, or before osteoporosis treatment.
10 micrograms (400 IU) daily is the standard UK recommendation for maintenance.
Confirmed deficiency needs a higher loading course first, then maintenance — which is worth getting right rather than guessing.
In summer, yes — short, regular exposure to bare arms and face is sufficient for most people.
Between October and March in the UK, no. The sunlight is too weak at this latitude to produce any, whatever the weather does.
And you do not need to burn. Brief exposure is enough; longer adds sun damage without adding vitamin D.
Yes. Excessive supplementation raises calcium to dangerous levels — causing nausea, vomiting, thirst, confusion and passing large volumes of urine.
If that happens, stop and seek same-day advice. Very high doses have no benefit over modest daily ones.
The effect is small at best, and mostly confined to people who were deficient to begin with.
Correcting deficiency helps; taking large amounts on top of adequate levels does not. The claims made online run well ahead of the evidence.
Correcting a genuine deficiency may help, particularly where fatigue is part of the picture.
Vitamin D is not a treatment for depression, and treating low mood with supplements alone delays help that would work.
Worth looking into rather than simply increasing the dose.
Malabsorption — particularly coeliac disease — is the usual explanation, along with obesity, which sequesters vitamin D in fat tissue and raises the requirement.
Yes — UK advice recommends a daily supplement for all children from one to four, and for breastfed babies from birth.
Healthy Start vitamins are free for eligible families, which is worth checking.
August 23, 2026
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
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