On occasions we identify the need for you to be seen by a consultant or for specialist
investigation, advice and / or treatment.

If you decide to see a consultant privately you may need to inform us of the consultant who
you wish to see and where the appointment is to take place, so that we can send a referral
letter about your relevant medical history.

If the private consultant requires you to have further tests then it is your private
consultant’s responsibility to organise these and to communicate the results to you. There
may be additional charges associated with this. If you have any difficulty obtaining these
results then please contact your consultant’s secretary.

If your consultant requests that you start on any new medication a prescription will only be
provided if your GP considers there is a clinical need and that an NHS patient would be
treated in the same circumstances. In order to judge your clinical need, we will require a
full clinical report from the private consultant and therefore you may not be able to have a
prescription immediately. If the recommendation from your private specialist is not within
the list of medications that we are allowed to prescribe then we may need to change this in line with
the drugs used locally or you may need to receive this from your consultant directly, for
which there would be a charge.

If you wish to transfer your care back to the NHS following your private consultation, for
example for an operation, then it is important to note that you will not be seen any sooner
under the NHS than you would have been.