We understand that some patients may choose to pay for private medical services instead of using the NHS.
A private medical service operates independently from the NHS, and a private consultant is not bound by NHS medicine management protocols.
As a rule, the private consultant who prescribes medication is responsible for the first issue of that medication and will charge the patient for it.
A second issue can be prescribed by a GP as an NHS prescription – but be aware that some specialist medicines are not approved for use by the NHS and will not be available on a NHS prescription.
In these cases, prescriptions should be issued by the private consultant and paid for by the patient.
You may also be prescribed medication by a private consultant that is only available to NHS patients as part of a shared care agreement.
A shared care agreement is an agreement between NHS hospitals & specialist NHS services, the Patient, and the GP, enabling the GP to accept responsibility for the safe prescribing and monitoring of specialist medicines.
The patient is not usually discharged by the NHS specialist and care is shared between the patient, the GP, and the specialist.
A GP will not agree to undertake a shared care agreement with a private consultant.