Right to Choose
NHS “Right to Choose” is a legal right in England allowing you to select your preferred NHS-funded healthcare provider for your first outpatient appointment.
This is often used to help patient access services with shorter waiting times.
It is important to recognise that whilst some private providers hold contracts with NHS to deliver services free of charge to patients, private services incurring a charge are NOT subject to the NHS Right to Choose pathway.
If you have a preferred provider in mind, it is important that you discuss this with the GP when they are discussing a referral with you.
Shared Care Agreements
We understand that some patients may be under the care of private providers for assessment, diagnosis, or medication (e.g., ADHD).
It is important for patients to be aware that our practice is not commissioned to provide blood tests, blood pressure checks, or ECGs requested by private providers. We can only undertake monitoring of medication if there is a formal shared care agreement in place between us and the private provider.
An NHS Shared Care Agreement is a formal arrangement where a hospital specialist and your GP share the responsibility for your treatment. It allows your GP to take over prescribing and monitoring specialist medications once you are in a stable condition. It is important to note that we are not legally obligated to accept a shared care request.
Requests for checks or monitoring outside of an agreed shared care arrangement cannot be accommodated. It is therefore important for patients to discuss this with us BEFORE undergoing assessment with a private provider.
This approach ensures that our practice can prioritise the care we are commissioned to provide under our NHS contract, while maintaining patient safety and the quality of care for all our registered patients.
Thank you for your understanding.