At Bexley Medical group, we do understand that some patients will opt for private care for a variety of reasons, and we support patient’s individual choices to do so. However, as prescribers take on full prescribing responsibility when a consultant asks the practice to take over prescribing or monitoring of medications, we need to ensure that our prescribers are happy that the medication is suitable and that appropriate monitoring will take place.
Sharing care with the private sector can carry higher risks than sharing care with the NHS and therefore decisions on this will be made on a case by case basis, and will always be discussed by at least 2 clinicians. Decisions on monitoring and dose changes will be taken by the consultant but would need to be agreed by the GP. The decision to share care, or not to, will be based on the following:
- Whether the consultant is appropriately registered and on the GMC specialist register, a member of the relevant Royal College and based in the UK.
- Whether the consultant is currently employed by the NHS or has previously been employed by the NHS in the same speciality in which they are practising privately.
- How often the consultant states that they are going to review the patient. If private review stops then prescribing by the practice will no longer be safe and will have to stop, possibly with little or no notice. For patients who are on an NHS waiting list, sharing care with a private consultant would be an interim measure until care is taken over by the NHS. Patients should be aware that they would be required to organise the relevant monitoring with the private consultant, and would therefore be expected to pay for such reviews. In cases where patients decide not to attend for these reviews, due to cost or other circumstances, prescribing by the practice would cease.
- Communication between the GP and the private consultant – we would expect the consultant to supply us with a direct email address and phone number, with access to email communication for any queries, with prompt replies.
- The nature of the prescribing – shared care is more likely to be possible if the drug is one which is licensed for the indication, would be given by an NHS consultant and for which there are no significant NHS guidelines or reports that recommend against its use.