If your doctor advises a referral to a specialist is needed you are entitled to an NHS referral, where you will have a choice of NHS provider through the NHS Choose and Book electronic system, or you can elect to see a consultant privately. If you choose to be seen privately you are advised to inform your GP and to make an appointment directly with the consultant’s secretary. You will then need to inform our secretarial team of the consultant’s name, speciality, clinic base and date of appointment, in order for them to provide the referral letter. If an NHS appointment has already been organised then the patient is responsible for its cancellation. The Health Authority is quite strict in observing the regulations that NHS and private care cannot be mixed. The referring doctor is usually able to complete the appropriate section in your insurance company’s forms but this does incur a fee.