We understand that some patients will opt to have some or all their treatment privately and support your right to do so.
However, to prevent any misunderstanding we would like to take this opportunity to explain how the NHS and General Practice work alongside Private providers of care.
For patients making use of health insurance, following an NHS appointment, a clinician may write a referral letter to a private provider, this will include any relevant medical details about you. These letters go through our normal administration/secretarial system and take time to produce.
If an insurance company wishes for a specific form to be completed, you may be charged for this additional non-NHS work.
If you do not have health insurance and wish to book directly with a private clinic, you do not require a letter and can arrange the appointment as you wish. Should you have any questions regarding your appointment you should contact the private provider directly.
If the Consultant thinks that you need any tests – including blood tests, then the Consultant is responsible for arranging tests and any medications that might be needed prior to the test, the cost of these are your responsibility to fund.
Please do not contact the practice to discuss the results of tests organised by private providers. It is the Consultant’s responsibility to discuss this with you, and the practice may not have access to the results.
NHS GP Practices are not responsible for repeating these tests or following them up unless they are part of a recognised NHS Screening programme.
If you have seen a doctor or other healthcare professional privately and they need you to start a treatment, you may be issued with a private prescription. Private doctors are not allowed to issue NHS prescriptions. This is because private consultations are not part of the NHS treatment pathway.
With a private prescription you will need to pay for the full cost of the medicine plus a dispensing fee.
If you wish to enter the NHS for further treatment after your initial prescription was dispensed privately, there are a number of reasons that your GP may not be able to transfer your private prescription onto an NHS prescription. These include:
- The medicine being recommended on your private prescription is not allowed on an NHS prescription
- The medicine being recommended is not included in your local NHS treatment pathway
- The medicine being recommended is not included in your local medicine formulary
- The medicine being recommended is only suitable for specialist or specialised prescribing
If the medication is of a specialised nature requiring ongoing monitoring, it is likely that we will unable to accept responsibility for the prescription. If we are unable to issue an NHS prescription you can still obtain the medication recommended via a private prescription from the private provider.