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Interface between NHS and private treatment

Guidance from the Ethics Department
February 2004

Advertising
How may private doctors advertise their services?
In the late 1990s the General Medical Council withdrew its restrictions on specialists advertising directly to the public. The same rules on advertising now apply to all doctors. These state that any information provided about medical services:

• must comply with the law and guidance issued by the Advertising Standards Authority
• must be factual and verifiable
• must not make unjustifiable claims about the quality of service
• must not offer guarantees of cures or exploit patients’ vulnerability or lack of medical knowledge
• must not put pressure on people to use the service, for example by arousing ill-founded fear for their future health or by visiting or telephoning prospective patients.[Go to reference 20]

This guidance applies to all advertising irrespective of the medium used (including information provided on the internet). Provided the material fulfils these broad criteria, it would not breach the GMC’s guidance. The BMA believes that, in addition, specialists should as a general rule make it clear to members of the public that they usually do not accept patients without a referral from a GP or other practitioner.

Private practitioners may also send factual information about the services they provide to general practitioners in the area.