§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how the level of the fee payable to a National Health Service consultant for a domiciliary visit is determined; what is the current level of fee and when it was last reviewed; in what circumstances such a fee is payable; and whether it is payable for visits made (a) within normal working hours or (b) outside normal working hours.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe level of the domiciliary consultation fee is determined by the Government on the advice of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration which reviews doctors' and dentists' salaries, fees and allowances annually. Present rates are based on the review carried out in the winter of 1983–84.
The current standard rate of domiciliary consultation fee is £24.15. Additional fees are payable in certain circumstances. Under the terms and conditions of service for hospital medical and dental staff a domiciliary consultation is defined as a visit to the patient's home, at the request of the general practitioner and normally in his company, to advise on the diagnosis or treatment of a patient who on medical grounds cannot attend hospital.
There is no differentiation in the fee payable for a domiciliary consultation according to the time of day or day of the week it is carried out.