GP are saying they can't back up my medical needs for housing support letter?

ouch_it_hurts

I have been put into an unsuitable property by my council after being homeless. One of the most obvious things making it unsuitable is the location- it's out of the catchment area of my GP and my medical care is so complex I can't disrupt it for the forseeable future by moving GP, and I also need to be abke to get to my GP easily, quickly and at short notice on a regular basis. Shelter are helping me request a review and have told me to try and get a letter from my GP to say that I need to be placed somewhere in my GP catchment area/ reasonably close proximity.

I asked my GP today and they said they charge £50 for housing letters. This made me think I should probably request this letter to talk thoroughly about the different suitability needs I have for a property placement so that I don't have to keep coming back and paying each time- my needs are quite extensive. They seemed reluctant to do this, saying they wont make any difference to the council, although council staff have previously told me drs letters stating explicitly what I need is the only way they'll listen to what I need. The GP explained their housing support letters could only say that I report various thing to them. Like where one of my conditions makes me need to go to the toilet all the time, it is well documented I have nocturia and frequency urgency, that I have to use medical toileting equipment in the bedroom, and another means I often can't do number 2s without medical "help" that has to be done lying down- but then the reality is I have to quickly go back & forth between bedroom and bathroom to wash contaminated hands and equipment at various stages in the process- so I need a bathroom in close proximity to the bedroom. The GP is saying they could only put in this letter wording such as "Ms____ reports she needs bathroom in close proximity to bedroom to manage her conditions" etc, and the same with any statement about any of my needs.

My understanding is that these letters cost extra because of the extra work involved, like a doctors having to go through your medical records in order to verify what the letter says is correct. So is it fair I should have to pay for my GP to make it sound like I'm making a load of stuff up that they can't verify is true? It just feels like extortion and doing everything they can to not get involved even though I depend on my medical care heavily to have an independent life. I don't understand.

Kimmy87

These kinds of requests are non NHS work and so it's reasonable that a GP would charge the patient for their time in performing such work.

I paid for such a letter when I needed to move, and it used the kind of language you described.

OverlyAnxious

I paid for a GP letter a few years ago and it was so poorly written and inaccurate that it didn't help my case at all. I wouldn't pay for another one again.

Kimmy87

A few years ago I had a letter written for a bus pass application.

When it arrived they'd used something else from my medical notes, which wouldn't have gotten me the pass.

I politely pointed out the problem and what it was supposed to say, they re wrote free of charge.