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How we work with doctors
The CMA Order
In October 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") published the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014 (the "CMA Order"). The CMA Order requires private hospital operators (such as HCA UK) to disclose on their websites certain information relating to the way the private hospitals interact with referring clinicians; that is a clinician that has practising privileges and/or has the ability to refer patients for treatment or tests at a private hospital.
Full details about the investigation and the Order can be found on the CMA web page: here. The information disclosed on this page is supplied in accordance with the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014.
Expert medical advice and clinical quality
"Putting patients first" was the founding philosophy of the doctors who established HCA in 1968. Since then, we have worked closely with medical professionals to put the health and wellbeing of all patients at the centre of what we do. Working closely with doctors is integral to our delivery of excellent patient care across all our hospital facilities.
Our clinical quality processes are designed to ensure that we are able to manage complex services and facilitate the best possible care for patients. As in the NHS, senior doctors spend a proportion of their time overseeing audits and clinical governance procedures; reading and disseminating management guidelines and policies; serving on specialty advisory committees and Departmental Management Teams; carrying out hospital subcommittee duties; taking on Lead Clinician roles; updating unit documentation; dealing with complaints, clinical incident investigations and critical incident reviews; and, participating in local clinical governance committees and local and national guideline groups.
Our advisers are among the most respected and eminent consultants in the UK, and our patients benefit from the high-level clinical advice of doctors who are leaders in their fields.
As senior clinicians, our advisers are often sought to consult on health issues for governmental and intergovernmental organisations including the UK Trade and Investment department (UKTI), the Department of Health, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). We are extremely proud that these consultant doctors choose to work with HCA.
HCA is charged an hourly rate by consultant doctors in return for their expertise and advice on how to operate excellent hospital facilities. These hourly rates are calculated by an external party on a Fair Market Value basis (FMV).
The vast majority of doctors who provide advice to HCA also have practicing privileges to treat patients in our facilities, but are under absolutely no obligation to do so. They are free to treat patients at any other private facility.
HCA is passionate about ensuring that the advice we receive from consultants should in no way compromise their NHS commitments. HCA requires the doctors that provide us with medical advice to attest that they are not compromising their NHS commitments to do so.
Working with consultants
We are proud to work in partnership with our Consultants to ensure our patients receive the highest standards of care.
The majority of Consultants working in HCA Healthcare UK’s hospitals and outpatient centres are self-employed independent practitioners and are not HCA UK employees. Many of them also work for the NHS and some also provide their services to other independent healthcare providers.
All Consultants working in our hospitals must agree to our Practising Privileges Policy in order to provide independent medical services within our facilities. This policy includes the standards expected and assurance of their practice with us.
All Consultants who are granted Practising Privileges at an HCA UK hospital have undergone a comprehensive application process to verify their clinical capabilities and this is regularly reviewed. All Consultants practising in our hospitals are registered with the GMC (General Medical Council) and hold a GMC licence to practice. They are required to have their own adequate medical indemnity cover and to operate according to HCA UK’s policies and procedures.
While Consultants are responsible for clinical decision-making and the quality of care they provide, HCA UK is responsible for ensuring that there are systems and monitoring in place to ensure that they practise in line with their Practising Privileges agreement with HCA UK.
Invoicing
As a private patient, the care you receive at an HCA Healthcare UK hospital will involve separate arrangements with HCA UK and with your Consultant. You or your private medical insurer will receive an invoice from your Consultant for their fees. This will usually be separate to the invoice issued by the HCA UK hospital.
Arrangements for emergency provision
All HCA UK hospitals have 24-hour medical cover available on site and our large hospital inpatient facilities offer critical care.
Services and Partnerships with doctors
Some HCA hospitals and facilities operate partnerships with doctors, some of whom may be referring clinicians.
More details are provided at each hospital’s How We Work With Doctors webpage.
Acquired businesses
HCA International Limited has a controlling interest in the following joint ventures in which the named doctors retain a minority interest in the percentage stated:
| Name | Function | Minority interests |
| Palace Gate Practice Limited | GP Practice | Dr Paul Wiseman (25%) |
| The London General Practice Limited | GP Practice | Dr Paul Ettlinger (30%) |
| Harley Walk In Clinic Limited | GP Practice | Dr Enam Abood (25%) |
| Notting Hill Private Medical Practice Ltd | GP Practice | Portobello Holdings Limited (Dr Neil Haughton and Dr Sarah Jordan) 30% |
On occasion, HCA UK provides general corporate hospitality at social events to which doctors are invited (such as Christmas parties) or educational events (such as service line demonstrations or symposia). Such hospitality is proportionate and reasonable and is not provided by HCA UK with the intention of inducing referrals or rewarding the referring clinician for making or having made referrals to HCA UK. It is important that we are transparent about the frequency and cost of these events. In all cases, the stated cost includes food and drink (where this cost is paid by HCA to an external party), plus the cost of hiring any non-HCA venue used. Where it is sensible to do so (e.g. a dinner) we will typically publish the cost per attendee; but where the total cost is fixed irrespective of attendees, we will normally state the number of people invited to the event.
Since 1 January 2024, HCA UK has hosted the following Events:
- HCA’s Third Annual Orthopaedics Symposium in June 2025. The total cost of this event was £33,032. 300 people were invited to this event.
- A women’s healthcare symposium in June 2025. The total cost of this event was £12,125. 130 people were invited to this event.
- The HCA UK Annual Key Consultant event in May 2025. The total cost of this event was £55,645. 250 people were invited to this event.
- A medical concierge networking event in February 2025. The total cost of this event was £3,540. 36 people attended this event.
- The HCA Laboratories Christmas party in December 2024 to which pathologists are invited. The total cost of this event was £35,000. 328 people were invited to the event.
- An event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Backlogs in November 2024. The total cost of this event was £2,578. 40 people were invited to the event.
- A cardiac symposium in November 2024. The total cost of this event was £18,594.150 people were invited to this event.
- A Haematology Symposium in September 2024. The total cost of this event was £17,538. 126 people attended this event.
- An event celebrating the launch of HCA UK’s Gut and Health Function in September 2024. The total cost of this event was £14,250. 80 people were invited to this event.
- A dinner for HCA Laboratories pathologists in July 2024. The total cost was £2,500. 65 people were invited to this event.
- A Spine Symposium study day in June 2024. The total cost was £29,265. 249 people were invited to this event.
- A Women’s Health conference in July 2024. The total cost of this event was £9,833. 90 people were invited to this event.
- A networking dinner for local healthcare professionals in Marylebone in June 2024. The total cost of this event was £2,250.17 people were invited to this event.
- A dinner hosted by the Cardiac service line in April 2024. The total cost for this event was £18,000. 105 people attended this event.
- A Digestive Diseases symposium in February 2024. The total cost of this event was £8,725. 67 people attended this event.
- A women’s health event in February 2024. The total cost of this event was £6,500. 50 people were invited to this event.
- A dinner for healthcare professionals in Kent in February 2024. The total cost of this event was £610. 11 people attended the dinner.
(Please check Hospital pages below for details of events hosted by the Hospitals.)
Secretarial and administrative services
HCA sometimes employs medical secretaries to liaise with patients, deal with correspondence, make appointments and handle patients’ enquiries on doctors’ behalf. Sometimes, medical secretaries work for more than one doctor. They help to manage complex processes such as payroll, making administration efficient both for doctors and – most importantly – our patients. Medical secretarial services are made available on a non-discriminatory basis and on equivalent terms in accordance with the CMA Order. We charge doctors for using this service at Fair Market Value (FMV).
More details are provided at each hospital’s webpage (with links below on this page).
Consulting rooms
HCA UK considers that doctors must be able to see our patients without delay, and in close proximity to our diagnostic and treatment facilities. In order to achieve this, we license our consulting rooms to doctors and other referring clinicians on an hourly basis at fair market value which we estimate by reference to the cost of equivalent services in the same geographical locality.
In some locations, we also license administration desks for use by referring clinicians’ own administrative staff on a full or half day basis, at fair market value which we estimate by reference to the cost of equivalent services in the same geographical locality.
Consulting rooms and administration desks are made available on a non-discriminatory basis and on equivalent terms in accordance with the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014.
More details are provided at each hospital’s How We Work With Doctors webpage.
Doctors running clinical trials
In some cases, doctors running clinical trials involving HCA UK patients and which are running at HCA UK locations may have costs relating to room fee and medical secretarial services met by the sponsor of the trial. (These costs are charged by HCA UK to the doctor at Fair Market Value.) At HCA UK, such trials are normally run by Sarah Cannon Research International.
Training
Where appropriate, HCA contributes to the cost of training and professional development of doctors via external training and attendance at medical conferences.
The following low-value services are provided free-of-charge to referring clinicians with practising privileges at HCA facilities:
- General services to ensure appropriate clinical care (such as in-house training, chaperones)
- Workplace amenities (e.g. free/subsidised tea and coffee including for patients, on-site meals, stationery)
- General marketing (such as general promotional events, consultant directories and internet profiles)
- Flu jabs as is common practice at healthcare facilities, HCA provides flu jabs in winter at some of our sites. These jabs are available on a first-come, first served basis and doctors are not given priority over HCA staff
- Consultant OH support in instances where we are concerned about an existing doctor’s fitness to work at our facilities (and with the approval of our Chief Medical Officer), referrals are made to our in-house occupational health team and/or access provided to our employee assistance programme
- GP Practices - CQC Registration Advice HCA offers advisory services to Primary Care practices (i.e. General Practices) relating to their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The services are charged by HCA UK under a contract and at a cost which reflects fair market value. Different service levels are available, and the services provided can include assistance with preparation and filing of submissions to the CQC (whether initial registration or maintaining an existing registration); advising and supporting key individuals and assessing readiness for CQC inspection.
Physician Support Services
Physician Support Services, part of HCA International Ltd, provides doctors with access to services which support their medical practice. By partnering with third party service providers, Physician Support Services facilitates doctors’ access to services including professional insurance, billing and collections, transcription services and practice management software. Doctors can use Physician Support Services as a one-stop service for outsourcing the non-medical and administrative elements of their practice.
Basic Life Support Training (BLS)
HCA UK has allocated a budget that allows us to fund Basic Life Support training courses. The course covers combined Adult & Paediatric Basic Life Support including use of Automated External Defibrillation Foreign Body Airway Obstruction (choking). These courses are run by an external company called A to E Training Solutions, and the cost to HCA UK currently is £570 per course. Typically, these courses have an attendance of six people. These courses are put on for GP practices to support their practice managers and doctors in their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). GP practices are free to approach us to provide this training. Our budget permits this course to run approximately 12 times in any year, and we intend to run a full complement of sessions in 2023.
Awarding EPIC points
HCA UK operates an internal reward system by which employees (including doctors that HCA UK employs) can be rewarded with points for meritorious reasons, both ad hoc and (sometimes) as a reward for length of service, birthdays, a milestone work anniversary, or in recognition of service. The recognition system used by HCA UK is known as the EPIC system (EPIC stands for Exceptional People In Care). Points can be redeemed to obtain gifts from a catalogue. These gifts are not lavish; and doctors are not favoured over other staff either in the frequency of awards to them or in the monetary value of these points.
Car parking
Some HCA UK facilities have (or have access to) car parking spaces. Where these spaces are made available to doctors, it is on a first-come, first-served basis. Where spaces are made available to staff and/or doctors, HCA does not charge for these. Some car parking spaces are off-site, away from the HCA facility. Occasionally, HCA staff may park a doctor’s car to allow the doctor to begin a clinic on time. HCA does not charge the doctor for this service.
There are some clinicians who do not offer inpatient or outpatient appointments but who also provide part-time roles of a ‘medical advisory’ nature in specialisms such as anaesthesia, radiography or radiology. Since these clinicians do not have HCA biography webpage, we provide details in this section on the How We Work With Doctors page associated with their primary hospital.
Where the clinician has no primary Hospital (or the clinician’s work is performed in a non-Hospital setting) you will find a description of their part-time role at the links below: