The NHS has contracts in place with many private hospitals to provide choice for patients for elective services. These private hospital services are listed on the NHS e-Referral Service and should be offered to patients by their GP. NHS patients on waiting list for treatment exceeding 40 weeks (and without an appointment date within 8 weeks) are also eligible for accessing treatment at these NHS contracted private hospitals, allowing them to potentially receive care sooner.

When managing NHS patients referred to private hospitals, it’s important to ensure that the patient’s safety is a priority and that the separation of NHS and private care is clear. NHS bodies and private healthcare providers should work together to develop protocols which include arrangements for the safe transfer of patients between NHS and private care clinicians.

A patient who has been receiving medical treatment privately can choose to be added to an NHS waiting list and receive treatment through the National Health Service, joining the standard queue based on clinical need, rather than continuing with private care. This is in essence switching from private healthcare to NHS treatment.

NHS patients may choose to have a private consultation, either at their own expense or through their private medical insurance. This private consultation may result in the issue of a private prescription or request for this to be issued by the patients GP.

Guidance from the British Medical Association Medical Ethics Committee (BMA MEC), suggests that should the GP consider that the medicine recommended following a private consultation is clinically necessary

The Department of Health guidance on NHS patients who wish to pay for additional private care states that “The NHS should continue to provide free of charge all care that the patient would have been entitled to had he or she not chosen to have additional private care”.