Independent information site. Not the NHS, not a clinic, not a diagnostic service, and not a referral service. England only. A GP, dentist or optometrist must decide whether a first outpatient referral is clinically appropriate. Provider lists, waits and ICB caps change — check the provider and your ICB before the appointment.
This page exists so you can see how the site is funded. Payment to us is not an NHS fee. Written by Pete, editor, not a clinician.
NHS-funded Right to Choose care is free at the point of use
If the legal right applies and you are referred for NHS-funded assessment or treatment, you do not pay the provider for that NHS service. The NHS Constitution for England restates that NHS services are free of charge except for limited exceptions set by Parliament. Standard prescription charges can apply later if medicine is prescribed. That charge is an NHS prescription rule, not a fee to this site.
A purely private-pay assessment is different: you (or an insurer) pay the clinic. That is not Right to Choose.
What we may be paid for
We do not charge you to read this site, to use the eligibility check, or to download pathway materials.
We may receive a fee from a partner clinic when you consent to that clinic contacting you — for example by ticking “I am happy for a matching partner clinic to contact me” on get help. That is a disclosed introduction, not an NHS referral. Only a GP, dentist or optometrist can make a Right to Choose referral.
If we receive a fee when you ask a listed provider to contact you, we say so on that page and on the form.
We do not:
- charge you an “NHS Right to Choose fee”
- take a cut of NHS treatment funding
- sell your details to a clinic unless you have consented to that clinic contacting you
- lock the providers directory to one clinic
Sponsored rows
If a clinic later pays for a featured comparison slot, that row will be labelled Sponsored. Editorial provider pages will still list organisations that claim to accept these referrals, whether or not they pay us. We will not exclusive-lock the directory.
What this does not buy
Paying us, or a clinic paying us, does not:
- make a referral clinically appropriate
- create or extend the legal right
- guarantee an appointment, a diagnosis, shared care, or a short wait
- mean we have verified the clinic’s NHS Standard Contract
Provider lists, waits and ICB activity caps change. Check the provider and your ICB on the day.
Related
Sources
Primary sources. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- The NHS Constitution for England, Department of Health and Social Care. Published 8 March 2012; landing last updated 17 August 2023. NHS services free of charge except limited Parliamentary exceptions; informed-choice right. HTML
- NHS Choice Framework, Department of Health and Social Care. England; first-outpatient choice is a legal right with listed exceptions, not a paid add-on. HTML
- Patient choice guidance, NHS England, B1441, 19 December 2023. Legal choice is about qualifying NHS contracts and clinically appropriate elective referrals — not about this website’s fees. Long-read
Provider pages (claims about NHS prescription charges on medicine, not a source of the free-at-point-of-use right):
- ProblemShared, Right to Choose page. States that where they prescribe, the NHS meets medication cost and a standard NHS prescription charge may apply. Retrieved 1 September 2026. Page
- Innovate ADHD, NHS patients page. States NHS prescriptions and standard charges. Retrieved 1 September 2026. Page
Last reviewed: 1 September 2026
Author: Pete, editor, not a clinician