Falkirk wheelchair user's dreams of flying grounded by GP admin charges

Emma Robinson, of Carronshore, was devastated when Wallace Medical Centre told her the fee they wanted to fill in the medical section of her application.

Single parent Emma, who works with Falkirk Council helping teenagers to find work and apprenticeships, heard through her son – who was an air cadet at the time – about a rare opportunity to take part in an RAF scholarship offering disabled people flying lessons.

She said: “The scholarship is only open for applications once a year and part two of the form needs to be filled in by a GP or health professional. So I took this part into Wallace Medical Centre three weeks ago.

"I finally got a reply and was told the doctor wanted £50 to fill in the form. I was told only one GP at the practice fills in forms and because it wasn't an NHS form the £50 was a standard fee.

"I explained to them there was no financial gain coming to me. It was simply a once in a lifetime opportunity. I said this fee meant I wouldn’t be able to apply."

She explained £50 was a bit steep for her, especially in these tough times and she needed every penny she had for her food shopping and to pay for petrol to be able to get to her work.

"It’s outrageous,” said Emma. “I even offered to fill each section in so all the GP needed to do was sign it. Again I was told this would cost me £50 – just for the GP to add their signature.”

Wallace Medical Centre told The Falkirk Herald to £50 fee was standard.

The practice manager said: “This private medical report is subject to a fee appropriate to what is required, and is not covered by the NHS. The patient is free to approach another provider should they prefer.”

And that is just what Emma did.

She said: “In desperation I managed to get my occupational health assessment support worker to kindly fill the form I needed and the RAF have made an exception and still accepted my late application.

“All the last minute stress and anxiety wasn't needed. You would expect your GP to support you, especially given my disability and health conditions. I'm trying to show my son anything is possible and disability doesn't need to hold you back.”

Emma contacted The Falkirk Herald this week to say her dreams were still alive as she had made it through the pre-selection phase and was now heading through to the formal induction and interview stage in March.

“I’m honestly over the moon to get this far.”