Patient face covering exemptions
From Friday 24 July people are required to wear face-coverings in several environments including public transport, shops and supermarkets, practices may get an increase in requests from patients to provide exemption letters.
Government guidance on face coverings including exemptions can be found here.
Practices have a contractual and legal obligation to provide patients with copies of their medical records. If requested by a patient, practices should provide the patient with either a copy of their notes or a summary which states the conditions which the patient is known to suffer with and have been documented in their medical record.
Risk assessing or producing a letter for a patient to be exempt from wearing a face covering is not part of the practice’s NHS obligations nor are GPs in a position to do this.
The government guidance on exemptions enables individuals to self-declare that they are exempt, medical evidence is not required.
If a practice receives a request for an exemption letter, they should direct the patient to the exemption guidance and self-declaration certificates. Practices may wish to consider updating their website with this information and using a standard text such as the one below, in response to a patient requesting an exemption letter/certificate.
Template website text:
As a practice we are not able to provide any patient with an exemption certificate or letter. The risks of Covid-19 infection is still significant so please wear face coverings. Should you feel that you should be exempt from wearing a face covering please download an exemption card.
Last updated : 29 Jul 2020May 2016 workforce survey – Headlines (19 Jul 2016)
Thank you for supporting our May 2016 Workforce. We had a fantastic response from 628 unique practices across the capital. That is the equivalent of nearly half of all the...LMC elections 2016 – results available (19 Jul 2016)
We are pleased to announce that the following GPs have been elected to their respective LMCs for the term 2016 - 2018. Congratulations to all and we sincerely look forward...New patient engagement manager joins Londonwide LMCs (19 Jul 2016)
A warm welcome to Beryl Cross who has joined Londonwide LMCs as Project Manager for our new project to support practices in engaging...Feedback sought on Capita/PCSE performance 18 July - 1 August (19 Jul 2016)
Following concerns expressed about the current Capita/Primary Care Support England (PCSE) records and supplies services, Capita has said it will continue improving systems until they are at an acceptable level....Sustainability and Transformation Plans - July 2016 Update (19 Jul 2016)
Dr Michelle Drage calls for more LMC involvement Dr Michelle Drage was quoted in the Health Service Journal’s coverage of our workforce survey calling for LMC involvement in STP footprint...Speakers' Corner - Dr Ed Rosen from the Lambeth GP Food Co-op (19 Jul 2016)
Ed Rosen is the project director for the Lambeth GP Food Co-op. He has previously worked in a number of patient engagement projects including providing skilled facilitation for patient participation...Londonwide LMCs celebrates the NHS at 68 (18 Jul 2016)
To celebrate the NHS turning 68 on 5 July Dr Michelle Drage wrote a piece for the Huffington Post, asking ‘Is NHS General Practice No Longer a Valued Member...Workforce shortages hit hard as 49% of London GP practices have a vacancy, 43% expect a GP to retire in the next three years and 35 practices are considering closing, survey shows (14 Jul 2016)
As the workforce crumbles in the face of staff shortages, Dr Michelle Drage, Chief Executive of Londonwide LMCs, warns that general practice in London is in a state of emergency...Statement by Dr Michelle Drage on the EU referendum result (24 Jun 2016)
"From London's viewpoint the decision of voters outside our city is going to compound all the challenges we have been faced with and continue to try to manage across the...Hospital sickness certificate poster (22 Jun 2016)
In late May Dr Michelle Drage wrote to London Hospital Trusts asking them to put up a poster which explains to patients that they can get fit notes from hospital...Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
