In the Current NHS climate we are increasingly referring patients at their request to a private provider instead of a traditional NHS referral – this is often due to long NHS waiting lists.  

Whilst I’m sure we all share the enormous sympathy for patients, who often through desperation, self-fund a private opinion despite not having the means to do so to completion, it is not the role of the NHS to fund this. The NHS should not be “propping up” the private system when the provider subsequently requests the practice undertake tests on their behalf and forward them results – the NHS guidance [1] is clear that you cannot choose to mix different parts of the same treatment between NHS and private care.  

It would be the LMCs advice that when any clinician is agreeing to refer a patient privately that it is their responsibility to ensure that the patient is aware that any tests/diagnostics/treatments/prescriptions will not be funded through the NHS if remaining in the private care system.

We attach a document developed by the All Wales AMDs group which goes into details around this and also includes an advice letter that can be shared with patients at the time of referral  

[1] https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/nhs-services-and-treatments/if-i-pay-for-private-treatment-how-will-my-nhs-care-be-affected/