"GP wanted to charge for HPV vaccination"

A 19 year old Manchester University student asked her GP practice if she could have the HPV vaccination to protect her against cervical cancer. She was told she would have to pay for this privately as it was not available from the NHS to the over-18s.

It should be noted that it is illegal to issue private prescriptions to NHS patients where the drug is licenced for use in the UK - exceptions are for drugs to be taken on holiday. It is generally not allowed for GPs to charge their own patients for medical services (there are exceptions such as certain medicals and reports).

Perhaps Manchester GPs should be reminded of this before there is a complaint.