Private surgery statement | East Calder Medical Practice

East Calder Medical Practice wishes to clarify our position regarding patients who wish to have private surgery.

The Scottish Government has clarified in a letter to NHS Scotland (dated Jan 23) that:

While the NHS in Scotland will always provide emergency care where necessary, all routine pre and post-operative care should be part of the package of care purchased by the individual patient.
There will be no obligation on NHS Boards to provide such routine pre and post[1]operative care.
In the event of a patient advising a healthcare professional of plans for privately arranged and purchased surgery, they should be advised firstly that this is not recommended, and secondly that there will be no obligation on their local NHS Board to provide routine pre and post-operative care. All care required should be provided within the package of care sold by the provider.

An increasingly common reason for patients seeking for private surgery is bariatric surgery (“weight loss” surgery). This is not a practice that is endorsed by NHS Scotland. For patients that do go ahead with this surgery, post-operative blood testing is advised to be done (in line with NHS bariatric surgery clinics) at 6 months, 12 months and then annually. East Calder Medical Practice will not provide this unless a patient is under local NHS specialist care. If an individual has already had private bariatric surgery, NHS Lothian will not accept referrals for post-operative care or follow-up.

Additionally, many patients will require post-operative vitamin treatment, possibly for life. East Calder Medical Practice is in a position to support this – a GP discussion will be required to determine what medication is required.