Private practice for gms and pms contractors

 

Private practice for GMS (General Medical Services) and PMS (Personal Medical Services) contractors is heavily restricted in terms of NHS registered patients. According to Part 5, Regulation 24 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015 (mirrored in PMS contracts), there are clear rules against charging NHS patients for care.

There are few exceptions where a fee may be charged to an NHS registered patient (see What can I charge for?)

Although GMS and PMS contracts do not prevent contractors from accepting private patients, those patients cannot also be registered with the NHS practice under the same contract.

New regulations introduced in October 2019 prohibit GP practices from offering or advertising private services during NHS working hours or on NHS-funded property if those services fall within primary medical services.

This means practices providing NHS commissioned services cannot charge for or host the same services during NHS hours and on their premises.

However, this does not prevent a practice from charging non-registered patients for non-primary medical services (services not commissioned by the NHS) or charging their own patients under the limited conditions mentioned earlier.

What Can I Charge For?

Generally speaking you may not charge fees to your NHS registered patients.  The Regulations [24 of the NHS (GMS Contracts) Regulations 2004 and Regulation 15 of the NHS (PMS Agreements) Regulations 2004] preclude you from charging patients.

However, Schedule 5 (GMS) Schedule 3 (PMS) sets out the circumstance in which you may charge patients for certain services.

  • HGV Medicals
  • Taxi Medicals
  • Medicals related to performing licences (models/actors)
  • Insurance Forms
  • Malaria Prophylaxis
  • Prescriptions for medications related to travel medicine

What can't I charge for? (Prescribed Certificates)

Practices cannot charge their registered patients for healthcare services, whether those services are available on the NHS or not.

1. To support a claim or to obtain payment either personally or by proxy; to prove incapacity to work or for self-support for the purposes of an award by the Secretary of State; or to enable proxy to draw pensions etc.

2. To establish pregnancy for the purpose of obtaining welfare foods
(schemes for distribution etc of welfare foods)

3. To secure registration of still-birth

4. To enable payment to be made to an institution or other person in case of mental disorder of persons entitled to payment from public funds
(pay, pensions etc of mentally disordered persons)

5. To establish unfitness for jury service

6. To support late application for reinstatement in civil employment or notification of non-availability to take up employment owing to sickness

7. To enable a person to be registered as an absent voter on grounds of physical incapacity

8. To support applications for certificates conferring exemption from charges in respect of drugs, medicines and appliances

9. To support a claim by or on behalf of a severely mentally impaired person for exemption from liability to pay the Council Tax or eligibility for a discount in respect of the amount of Council Tax payable