At Knoll Medical Practice, we are committed to providing high-quality care to all of our patients. However, there are important reasons why we do not accept shared care agreements from private healthcare providers. These reasons are based on national guidance from the British Medical Association (BMA) and reflect our responsibility to ensure patient safety, maintain quality care, and manage our workload effectively.
What is a Shared Care Agreement?
A shared care agreement is an arrangement where a patient’s care is divided between a private healthcare provider and a General Practitioner (GP) in the NHS. Typically, the private provider will initiate treatment or prescribe medication, and the GP will then be asked to take over part of the treatment or ongoing monitoring of the patient, as outlined in the shared care agreement.
1. NHS and Private Care Work in Different Systems
The NHS and private healthcare systems operate independently, with different frameworks, funding, and expectations. The NHS is publicly funded, and GP practices like ours are required to prioritise NHS-funded work. Accepting shared care agreements from private healthcare providers introduces a complex administrative burden, as we must align private treatments with our NHS responsibilities, often without sufficient funding or resources to do so.
2. Workload and Capacity Management
The BMA’s guidance highlights the pressures on GP practices to manage growing patient demand within an already stretched healthcare system. GP practices are responsible for the ongoing care of all registered patients, which includes monitoring long-term conditions, providing preventive care, and responding to urgent medical needs.
3. Responsibility for Clinical Care and Accountability
As GPs, we are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of our patients. This includes making clinical decisions based on the best available evidence and guidelines.
Shared care agreements can create complications in clinical accountability. When a patient is treated privately, the GP may not have access to the full details of their treatment plan, test results, or ongoing management, which can make it difficult to provide safe and effective care. The BMA’s guidance advises that GPs should not take on responsibility for the clinical care provided by a private healthcare provider, as we cannot oversee or control these treatments in the same way we would for NHS treatments. This could potentially lead to clinical risks if adverse reactions or complications arise that the GP is unaware of due to a lack of information or direct involvement.
4. Financial and Resource Implications
Providing care for patients who have been treated privately often requires additional time, effort, and administrative work. GPs may be asked to monitor a patient’s condition, adjust prescriptions, or perform follow-up tests, all of which take valuable time and resources.
Under NHS funding, GP practices are not reimbursed for the time spent managing private care. This could unfairly divert resources away from NHS patients, further exacerbating pressures on the practice and the healthcare system as a whole.
Our Commitment to NHS Care
At Knoll Medical Practice, our priority is providing safe, effective, and comprehensive care to our NHS patients. By not accepting shared care agreements from private healthcare providers, we ensure that our resources are focused on meeting the needs of our NHS patients, without compromise.
We understand that navigating between private and NHS care can sometimes be challenging. If you are receiving private healthcare and have concerns or need support, we encourage you to speak directly with your private healthcare provider to discuss how best to manage your care moving forward.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we continue to deliver the best care possible within the resources available to us.