Medical certificates and reports
July 2004
GPs' obligations
The new GMS contract continues the statutory requirement for GPs to provide certain medical certificates. The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004 state:
21. - (1) A contract must contain a term which has the effect of requiring the contractor to issue free of charge to a patient or his personal representatives any medical certificate of a description prescribed in column 1 of Schedule 4, which is reasonably required under or for the purposes of the enactments specified in relation to the certificate in column 2 of that Schedule, except where, for the condition to which the certificate relates, the patient-
(a) is being attended by a medical practitioner who is not -
(i) employed or engaged by the contractor,
(ii) in the case of a contract with two or more individuals practising in partnership, one of those individuals; or
(iii) in the case of a contract with a company limited by shares, one of the persons legally or beneficially owning shares in that company; or
(b) is not being treated by or under the supervision of a health care professional.
(2) The exception in paragraph (1)(a) shall not apply where the certificate is issued pursuant to regulation 2(1)(b) of the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations 1976[52] (which provides for the issue of a certificate in the form of a special statement by a doctor on the basis of a written report made by another doctor).
Schedule 4 is reproduced at Appendix 1 – we have inserted in bold references to the certificates commonly requested in relation to these regulations.
GPs with PMS contracts are equally obliged to fulfil these requirements with regard to certificates. This is laid down in Regulation 12, Schedule 2 of The National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2004.
A summary of the certificates and statements that general practitioners have a statutory obligation to provide free of charge to their patients or representatives is described in the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) booklet IB204. This, and guidance on filling in the certificates, can be found on the DWP Corporate Medical Group website: www.dwp.gov.uk/medical
Such certificates include Med 4, Med 5, Med 6 and the statement contained within the DLA or AA claim pack. We recently clarified with the DWP that it is not obligatory for GPs to fill in the factual reports for the DLA, AA and form DS1500 (Special Rules). They attract a separate fee paid by the DWP.
GPs are obliged, by statute, to provide medical certificates of the cause of death.
(This is separate from the GMS/PMS contract regulations.)