NHS Right to Choose

[Sunnydays41]

The school has referred DD7 for both ASD and ADHD assessments.

I've contacted a local private company which has confirmed that they take referrals as part of the Right to Choose pathway, but the referrals need to be from GP.

Presumably I can ask my GP to also do a referral?!

Yes, you can ask the GP.

Thanks for this.

So after waiting around alllll day for a call back from the GP (and, as GP was locum and had to check, a subsequent call which I missed as driving so they sent a text message), the answer was simply no, they cannot refer directly to XX provider.

Does anyone have any idea why they've said this?

I have an email from the provider which sets out, very clearly, the process GPs can take to refer a child, plus the referral form they need to complete.

I then spent 30 mins in a caller queue to ask the receptionist how I can send this information to the GP, to be told, no I can't forward an email, I must print it out and bring it in in person 🤷‍♀️

So that is what I shall be doing tomorrow and then inevitably waiting around all day for another phone call and probably another computer says no...

Not all GPs understand RTC, so this may be the case for you. As well as the info from the provider print out some info about RTC.If the provider offers assessments under RTC the GP can refer.

Thanks so much for this. Do you have any good links to info on it with regards to neurodiversity? I read somewhere that NHS England clarified in Sep 2020 that RTC was applicable to ND referrals, but couldn't see anything official from them online about it.

The provider sent a very good email, thankfully.. literally spelt out the criteria and process a GP would need to follow and specifically refer to the 'RTC process for children'. And I'm glad they sent me their GP referral form, which is titled 'Under 18s Right to Choose'!

Though I still have a horrible feeling the GP will come up with some reason!

The RTC is mentioned in the NHS choice framework here. It despite explicitly mention ND, but it does mention when it doesn’t apply.

Thank you. Have asked for them to refer to the legalities of RTC in this document.

Thanks again for the help. GP rang back today and said that neither she nor the permanent GP had heard of RTC, but she was happy to do the referral so went through the form with me.

I let her know it had been in place since 2018; she said she didn't understand why they had had no training on it and that more people didn't know about it. Said she was going to suggest it from now on!

So fingers crossed it's accepted and only a 6-9-month wait compared to 2-3 years!

Sadly, it isn’t unheard of for GPs to not to know about it. It baffles me not all do know about it though.

Yes, I was surprised, it seemed like she meant RTC in general as well, as opposed to just applying to ND referrals. So in the five years since it was introduced, noone has ever asked about it?!

Tbh, she sounded fairly young and inexperienced, but I was even more surprised that the permanent GP hadn't heard of it either; it's his surgery, must have been a GP for 40 years and is extremely revered by most people.

I'm just glad I went to the private provider first of all; if I had rung the GP first and got a blanket no, I'm not sure I would have had the confidence/knowledge to question it.

Maybe others have asked about it, but not by name and only to other NHS providers, rather than a private provider who does some NHS work iyswim. For example, if the nearest NHS hospital is X and that’s where respiratory referrals normally go to, someone may have asked for a referral specifically to NHS hospital Y’s respiratory department.