§ 15. Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the proportion of time spent by NHS consultant doctors on working in the private sector. [17568]
§ Mr. MaloneIt is a statutory requirement and underpinning principle of the conduct of private practice in national health service hospitals that private work should not significantly interfere with a hospitals NHS contracts. Within this framework, consultants are free to undertake private work in addition to their NHS duties and in their own time. The combination of private practice and NHS treatment means that overall more patients are treated than if health care were available only through the NHS. There is a contractual obligation on NHS consultants to devote substantially the whole of their professional time to their NHS duties.