Practices will no longer charge patients with mental health problems for forms used to get access to debt support, it has been announced.
Under new guidance, debt advisers are being encouraged to use other means to certify that a patient facing a debt crisis has mental health problems.
The British Medical Association said this should reduce pressure on practices. Practices would not charge for the forms – the Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form – when they were needed. The form has been reissued in shortened form. Charges for the forms have ranged from £30 to £150.
The BMA said it had agreed the changes in the recently agreed five-year GP contract. Creditors and debt advisers are asked to trust customers own reports of their mental health. Prescriptions, appointment letters or benefits letters should be accepted, it says.
BMA GP committee chair Dr Richard Vautrey said: : “It can be hard for patients with mental health conditions to reach out for financial help, so it’s vital that the process of getting debt support is made as simple as possible and without unnecessary charges.
“We’re delighted that the Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form is now shorter, clearer, and comes at no cost to our patients. We want to empower patients by encouraging the use of self-certification and reduce the need for GP practice involvement in these situations, but we hope that, where that’s not possible, this updated form will now make things quicker and easier for those to get the help they need and deserve.”
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