Psychiatry and the Right to Choose
NHS patients have the legal right to select their initial outpatient appointment. However, some GPs aren't sure how it works. Siobhan Rourke discovered this when she tried to get an ADHD assessment via Right To Choose.
Psychiatry UK offers online consultations with psychiatrists via videoconference for patients who pay for their services and to some NHS Patients. The service also offers assessments and prescriptions.
Psychiatry UK has been registered as a provider of Right to Choose assessments
Right to Choose is a legal right given to patients by the NHS in England to to choose their own clinical team for non-urgent, consultant-led treatment. This includes the field of psychiatry. However, it does not apply to services provided by local authorities, such as maternal services or community mental health services.
To use the option to select a service, you will need to be referred by your GP. This must be a GP who is registered with the General Medical Council (GMC). You can determine which doctors are registered with the GMC by examining their information on the NHS website.
You can request a referral to Psychiatry UK once you have a registered physician. You will receive an email containing a link for booking your appointment. This link will take to a secure and encrypted online system which allows you to book an appointment with a doctor. You will be asked to provide basic details about yourself, including your contact information and GP referral number. Psychiatry UK has a wide selection of specialists that can carry out assessments. They include psychotherapists, psychiatrists and nurses. They are often specialists in a particular condition, such as depression or anxiety disorders. Some specialize in specific age ranges like teenagers and the elderly. Some of these companies offer electronic consultations, which are conducted over the internet, using video conferencing or emails.
Patients are typically referred to a provider in their CCG's (Community and Care Partnership - formerly CCG's) catchment area. But they can also request to be referred to a different provider when they have an open electronic referral with their GP and the referring doctor agrees to it. This is referred to as a 'virtual GP referral'.
Psychiatry UK is an established online psychiatric assessment and diagnosis service. The team of experts, led by consultant psychiatrist Dr James Cox, specialise in the diagnosis and management of disorders that affect adults as well as adolescents. This includes anxiety, depression, perinatal mental illness, ADHD, and addictions. adhd psychiatrist uk is a registered provider of the NHS Right to Choose Service and offers online appointments with psychiatrists or nurse prescribers.
We are authorized as a provider of Right to Choose assessments
If you receive a referral from your GP to an NHS hospital or service for mental health you have the right to choose where you go. This right to choose is applicable only to those facilities that have an NHS standard contract with your CCG or NHS England for the service you require. This includes psychiatry.
The field of psychiatry studies the causes as well as the treatment and diagnosis of mental illness. It involves the use of medication and other techniques, such as psychotherapy. It is a highly specialized area that requires extensive knowledge and ability. Psychologists are highly trained professionals who assist patients, families and other healthcare workers to help them overcome the symptoms of mental illness.
The majority of NHS services in England are offered by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). These organisations are responsible to commission NHS services within their local area. CCGs are legally obligated to ensure they meet the national standards for patient care. They are legally obligated to respect the rights and preferences of patients. In certain situations, a patient's preference for a provider may not be implemented correctly. In these instances, the patient must first speak with their GP to explain the situation.
If a GP denies a referral, the patient is able to contact their local commissioning group for clinical care and lodge a complaint about the decision. The CCG will then investigate the complaint and take appropriate action. The patient can also apply for an independent complaint advocate to help them through the process.
Psychiatry UK has been registered as a provider of Right to Choose assessments for England. They provide both private and NHS-funded ADHD assessments, and also provide a shared care agreement with your GP. They can also provide titration for ADHD medication. They cannot provide a full ADHD diagnosis during the 90-minute appointment. It is crucial that you are honest with your GP regarding the length of time the test will take. If you don't tell them, then they might not be able to offer you the most beneficial advice.
We accept referrals by GPs
GPs are legally authorized to refer patients for specialist treatment under the NHS, including psychotherapy and medication, via Right to Choose. They can do this with any service that has a standard contract with the CCG or NHS England. A GP is able to do this only if the patient and the GP agree. The GP must explain this to the patient and then submit an Individual Funding Request (IFR) for their doctor in order to receive prior approval.
To better understand how GPs make referral decisions the TAG team conducted a series of facilitated focus group sessions with GPs and MHPs at eight different GP practices. The conversations were recorded on audiotape and transcribed verbatim. The general consensus is that doctors are reluctant to refer patients to psychotherapy or medication. They were concerned that patients may not be able to cope with any additional treatment and could not attend follow-up sessions. Additionally, a lot of GPs believed that psychiatry liaison was not adequately funded and oversubscribed.
The results of this research revealed that GPs rely more on pre-existing relationships and their knowledge when making referral decisions rather than on the particular needs of a patient. This was evident in all of the taped meetings. CMHT leaders and Psychiatrists have also commented on their views about the competence of each individual GPs This was evident in all the recorded meetings.
It is crucial to remember that the right to choose applies to both treatments as well as assessments, including neurodevelopmental diagnostic assessment. Psychiatry UK is one of the biggest providers of NHS and private ADHD assessments. They provide a range of services to NHS and private funded patients. The service comprises of an appointment with psychiatrists and an assessment report, as well as prescriptions for medications.
The NHS is experiencing a record-breaking increase in demand for mental healthcare and the system is unable to keep up. The demand is particularly high for specialist services like ADHD assessments and the diagnosis of perinatal disorders. This demand increases and causes long waiting times for GPs who refer patients to be evaluated and treated. It is essential that the NHS improves its efficiency and ensures that quality of care is not diminished.
We accept referrals from other providers
In England the UK, the right to select is in place at the time of referral from GPs when it comes to first outpatient appointments. This is applicable for both mental and physical ailments. The right to choose is applicable to all services that have an NHS standard agreement with any CCG (host commissioner) or NHS England. This includes both national and community mental health services, like the Maudsley Hospital in London. It is also applicable to regional and local providers that provide NHS-commissioned care.
Psychiatry-UK accepts NHS referrals from GPs and other health professionals in England who want to assert their patient's legal right to select an ADHD assessment. This allows patients to get past the lengthy wait time required to obtain an ADHD diagnosis via the NHS e-Referral Service. We offer an online ADHD assessment and diagnosis service, which means that patients can see psychiatrists who are consultants at the convenience of their own home.
Our service is offered to health professionals, including GPs, who are exercising their legal rights to choice to conduct an ADHD assessment for their patients, under NHS Right to Choose legislation. Please complete our online ADHD Assessment form to send a patient. After we have received the information, we will send an email confirmation to your GP or healthcare professional, acknowledging the receipt. We will also send the link to make an appointment to conduct the ADHD evaluation and diagnosis, within the maximum NHS waiting period of 18 weeks.
The current pandemic has caused an enormous increase in number of people referred to community mental health teams for help. This has resulted in an increase in demand for psychiatry evaluations and a higher workload for staff. The rapid spread of the pandemic meant it was difficult for doctors and other healthcare professionals to keep up with the number of referrals. This resulted in a number of inappropriate referrals.
We conducted a qualitative study within an experimental study that used a randomised control to explore the efficacy of different strategies for improving the quality of referrals to mental health. This included interviews with GPs, community mental health team (CMHT) consultants and recording of referral allocation meetings. The findings of the study revealed that the use of a custom referral process was a viable way to manage the workload of GPs and CMHTs and also provide patients with the options they require to be effectively treated.