Right to Choose Referral Process

Introduction

This guide explains the Right to Choose referral process. It is designed to support both patients and staff in managing these referrals smoothly and safely.

Our goal is to reduce referral delays, prevent miscommunication, and ensure safe, consistent care.

Under NHS Right to Choose, if your GP agrees that you need a specialist referral for a physical or mental health condition, the Right to Choose rules mean you, the patient, can choose which hospital or clinic you are referred to. This can often include private hospitals or service providers, as long as they provide services to the NHS.

Patients may exercise their right to choose if waiting times for a particular local or sub-specialist service are very long, and currently, this proves to be the case with mental health services.

ADHD or ASD assessments

Patients have the Right to choose when the following conditions are met:

The NHS practice is in England
The GP has agreed to make clinically appropriate outpatient referral

The above is designed to be wide ranging in its application to patient choice. However, there are certain restrictions on a patient’s Right to choose that you should be aware of. Patients cannot use Right to choose if they are:

already receiving mental health care following an elective referral for the same condition
referred to a service that is commissioned by a local authority, for example a drug and alcohol service (unless commissioned under a Section 75 agreement)
accessing urgent or emergency (crisis) care
accessing services delivered through a primary care contract
in high secure psychiatric services
detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
detained in a secure setting. This includes people in or on temporary release from prisons, courts, secure children’s homes, certain secure training centres, immigration removal centres or young offender institutions
serving as a member of the armed forces (family members in England have the same rights as other residents of England.

Once you have spoken with the GP and agreed a referral, if the Right to choose pathway is to be used you, the patient, must choose your provider. We cannot recommend one. It is imperative that you select the correct provider for your needs. This information can be gained from their website or from contacting them directly. As an example, in the case of ADHD, some providers will only offer a diagnostic service, whereas others will start medication and then provide shared care with the GP.

Once a provider has been selected, please download their referral form and complete all parts which you can. This should then be passed to the GP to complete and send. Some providers now have an on-line portal which only a healthcare professional can complete. If this is the case, ideally, you should book a routine face to face appointment to go through this referral with the GP, to ensure all information is to hand.

Useful links:

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/your-choices-in-the-nhs/

https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose/

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/before-diagnosis/how-to-request-an-autism-assessment

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