Shared Care Prescribing with Private Providers

Please note Wallsend Primary Care Network (Hadrian Health Centre, Village Green Surgery, and Bewicke Medical Centre) do not offer “Shared Care Prescribing” with private providers, unless they are directly providing services for the NHS. This means that if you see a private provider and they prescribe certain medications, your GP will be unable to take over prescribing.

“Shared Care Prescribing” medications include (but are not limited to) ADHD medications, medications used for autoimmune conditions, and hormones used in gender dysphoria. These are higher risk medications that require the “Shared Care” of both the GP and the Specialist for ongoing prescribing, to ensure the prescribing is safe and effective.

We understand this may be disappointing, however we need to be sure the medications we are prescribing are safe and are monitored appropriately. NHS guidelines state we should not be entering “Shared Care Prescribing” with private providers. This is for multiple reasons, including the fact that care cannot be “shared” between the NHS and private organisations, and that there is a risk of unsafe prescribing if you have been discharged from the private provider (as the specialist will no longer be involved).

If your private provider wishes to prescribe a “Shared Care Medication”, they will need to continue prescribing this – your GP will be unable to prescribe this medication on the NHS. If you wish for your medication to be prescribed on the NHS, you will need to be assessed by an NHS clinic and they will then discuss “Shared Care Prescribing” with your GP, if they feel it is appropriate. The wait for this assessment and discussion will depend on the clinic’s waiting list.