Practice position in relation to patients who seek prescriptions / tests requested by private care providers
Private Referral Prescribing Position
You have asked to be referred to a private provider for ongoing healthcare. We appreciate that people undertake this decision for a variety of reasons.
However, please be aware that as GPs funded by the NHS we are not always able to provide medications recommended by private practitioners. At the point of seeking a private referral it should not be your expectation that we will always be able to provide you with the recommended treatment. You may have to fund this yourself. All requests for prescriptions from NHS and private specialists are checked carefully by GPs before we take on responsibility for prescribing.
We may need to decline to prescribe for a number of reasons including;
• the use of treatments that lie beyond our area of expertise
• the use of treatments that are not prescribed in line with local prescribing guidelines. Such guidelines exist to ensure safety and value for money for NHS patients.
• the use of treatments by private providers that involve specialist monitoring that we are not funded to undertake
We are currently working under significant pressure and it is essential that we utilise the time and resources at our disposal to ensure the timely delivery of NHS care.
We thank you for your understanding.