Guidance

NHS patients who wish to pay for additional private care

Guidance for the NHS when patients want to buy care services that the NHS does not normally fund.

• From: Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 23 March 2009

Applies to England

Documents

Guidance on NHS patients who wish to pay for additional private care

PDF, 126 KB, 15 pages

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Letter from David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS, introducing the final guidance on patients who wish to pay for additional private care

PDF, 671 KB, 2 pages

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Improving access to medicines for NHS patients: a report for the Secretary of State for Health by Professor Mike Richards

PDF, 410 KB, 77 pages

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Details

This guidance sets out principles on boundaries between NHS and private care when making decisions when NHS patients want to buy additional secondary care.

It follows the publication of Professor Mike Richards’ report and DH consultation in November 2008, and measures in response to Professor Richards’ report.

Professor Mike Richards’ report, ‘Improving access to medicines for NHS patients’, sets out recommendations on improving access to medicines for NHS patients, and the consequences for NHS patients of seeking additional private care. The recommendations were accepted in full by the Secretary of State for Health.

The responses to the consultation broadly supported Professor Richards’ recommendations and the aims of the guidance. The guidance includes some changes, in response to issues raised in the consultation.

Measures in response to Professor Richard’s report:

• were designed to make more drugs available to NHS patients free of charge
• should minimise the number of patients who will want to pay for additional private care

Published 23 March 2009