What doctors can do

We want doctors to carefully consider whether the fees offered by a Local Authority for MHAAs are a
fair representation of the skill level required and the realistic market value of those skills. We are asking
doctors to advocate for these fair and benchmarked fees to undertake this work.

Unless doctors have entered into a specific agreement with their NHS employer, MHAAs undertaken outside of their place of work (i.e., not where patients are in-patients) are classed as fee-paying services, which are not part of their contractual duties. Doctors are therefore under no obligation to undertake them and may decline to do so unless the fees offered are acceptable to them.

Professional obligations

The responsibility for provision of MHAA services lies with the Local Authority and not individual doctors. Any decision by a doctor not to undertake a MHAA on request should not place a doctor in conflict with their obligations under the GMC’s Good Medical Practice.