In general terms, an NHS GP cannot and should not act on private blood tests, as it’s the responsibility of the private provider to manage all aspects of care, including tests and results. Private tests and any requested management fall outside the scope of the NHS primary medical service. It is the private clinician’s responsibility to arrange tests, provide results, and manage any subsequent treatment, not your NHS GP. However, a GP may consider investigating a problem potentially triggered by a private test, but this is at their discretion and is not a mandatory service.
NHS Guidance states that patients may pay for additional private healthcare while continuing to receive care from the NHS. However, in order to ensure that there is no risk of the NHS subsidising private care:
– It should always be clear whether an individual procedure or treatment is privately funded or NHS funded.
– Private and NHS care should be kept as clearly separate as possible.
– The patient should bear the full costs of any private services. NHS resources should never be used to subsidise the use of private care.
– The arrangements put in place to deliver additional private care should be designed to ensure as clear a separation as possible of funding, legal status, liability and accountability between NHS care and any private care that a patient receives.
NHS GPs might investigate a legitimate problem that was triggered by a private test but will only arrange a test if they deem it clinically appropriate for their NHS care, they are competent to interpret it, and they can manage the patient’s care. If you do have specific clinical symptoms that you would like to discuss, then please book a routine GP appointment.
Please see the attached from the Local Medical Committee regarding investigations related to private healthcare services.
