The legal right people call Right to Choose — choice of a clinically appropriate provider and team at first outpatient referral — applies in England only. The NHS Choice Framework, the NHS Constitution for England, the NHS Standing Rules and NHS England’s patient-choice guidance do not create that right in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Those nations run separate health systems. People there who want an independent ADHD or autism assessment are typically a private-pay audience, not an NHS Right to Choose audience.
This is independent information. It is not the NHS, not a clinic, not diagnostic advice and not a referral service. Written by Pete, editor, not a clinician.
Who this applies to
- England. If a GP, dentist or optometrist makes a clinically appropriate elective referral for a first outpatient appointment, you may have a legal right to choose any clinically appropriate provider that already holds a qualifying NHS Standard Contract for that service with any integrated care board or NHS England, and a clinically appropriate team at that provider. See What is Right to Choose? and eligibility.
- Children as well as adults in England. The Choice Framework applies to people of all ages. NHS England says remote ASD and ADHD assessments may be subject to the legal right when the other conditions are met. Age limits on a clinic website are that provider’s contract or clinical rules, not a national adult-only law. Do not treat secondary blogs that say children’s Right to Choose “does not exist” as law.
- Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Read this page as a geography warning, then treat any independent clinic as private-pay unless that nation’s own NHS rules say otherwise. This site does not map those rules.
Who this does not apply to
- Using an English GP’s Right to Choose referral if you are using NHS services in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland as your responsible system.
- Self-referral as if it were the English legal right. NHS England is explicit: legal choice does not extend to self-referrals.
- Assuming a purely private clinic in any nation is “Right to Choose” because it assesses ADHD or autism. Without a qualifying NHS Standard Contract, it is private-pay. See Private ADHD vs Right to Choose.
- This site inventing an equivalent legal right, a waiting-time standard, or an NHS pathway for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We will not.
England — what the official documents actually say
Official publications rarely use the brand “Right to Choose”. They say a legal right to choice of provider and team, or choice of where to go for a first outpatient appointment.
The NHS Choice Framework is the patient-facing explanation of nationally set choices. It applies to England and to people of all ages. Some choices in it are legal rights (must be given by law). First-outpatient choice is one of those legal rights, with listed exceptions, at the point of referral from a GP, dentist or optometrist, and only to providers that have an NHS contract to provide the service you need.
The NHS Constitution for England applies to England. NHS bodies and private or voluntary providers supplying NHS services must take account of it. It does not create new legal rights; it restates rights that exist in legislation, plus non-legal pledges. The informed-choice right is: you have the right to make choices about the services commissioned by NHS bodies and to information to support those choices. Options develop over time and depend on individual needs; details are in the Handbook.
The enforceable detail sits in Part 8 of the NHS Standing Rules (SI 2012/2996 as revised, including SI 2023/1105, in force 1 January 2024). Those regulations apply in England. They are condition-neutral: they do not name ADHD, autism or “Right to Choose”.
NHS England’s patient-choice guidance (19 December 2023) is England commissioning guidance. Legal rights to choice in mental health, learning disability and autism were introduced in 2014.
If you are in England, continue with eligibility, the GP script, and the providers index.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — private-pay, not English RTC
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each run their own NHS. The English Choice Framework, Constitution, Standing Rules and NHS England choice guidance do not apply there.
This independent site does not:
- tell you that you have English Right to Choose if your care is commissioned in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
- invent a waiting-time figure for those systems
- claim an equivalent “choice of any qualifying English independent provider” as law in those nations
If you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and you are considering an independent ADHD or autism clinic, treat that as private-pay unless you have confirmed a local NHS route with your own GP and health board or trust. You (or an insurer) pay the clinic. That is not NHS-funded Right to Choose, which in England is free at the point of use aside from limited Parliamentary exceptions such as standard prescription charges.
Some independent clinics listed on our providers index also sell private assessments (for example, some adult ADHD offers that they do not put on their NHS Right to Choose page). Those private products are not the English legal right. If you ask a listed clinic to contact you, we may receive a fee. That is not an NHS fee. See how we make money.
Psychiatry UK, on its English RTC page, states that you must live in England with an English GP at referral, assessment and treatment, and that moving to a non-English GP ends RTC eligibility. That is their published English-RTC rule, consistent with the England-only legal geography, not a source of Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish law.
Children’s Right to Choose exists in the primary sources
This matters because some secondary pages have said children’s services “were never part of the standard Right to Choose framework”. Primary sources contradict that.
- The Choice Framework applies to people of all ages.
- NHS England’s guidance treats mental health, learning disability and autism choice as in scope, and states that remote ASD and ADHD assessments may be subject to the legal right when other conditions are met.
- Referrers include GPs for paediatric as well as adult elective referrals where the tests are met.
- Age limits are provider contract / clinical limits, not a legal adult-only rule.
A clinic may still only accept children from a stated age, or adults only. Check that organisation’s own page. See Right to Choose ADHD and Right to Choose autism.
Step by step
- If you use NHS services in England: read What is Right to Choose?, then eligibility.
- If you use NHS services in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland: do not use the English GP script as if the Standing Rules applied. Speak to your own GP about local NHS assessment routes. Treat independent clinics as private-pay unless you have confirmed otherwise locally.
- Do not self-refer and call it Right to Choose. In England, legal choice still needs a GP, dentist or optometrist elective referral.
- Do not assume a wait. English waits are snapshots only — waiting times. We do not invent waits for other nations.
Sources
Primary sources. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- NHS Choice Framework, Department of Health and Social Care. Applies to England; people of all ages; section 3 first-outpatient choice. Published 29 April 2016; landing last updated 23 October 2024. HTML · Landing
- The NHS Constitution for England, Department of Health and Social Care. Applies to England. Informed-choice right; does not create new legal rights. Published 8 March 2012; landing last updated 17 August 2023. HTML · Landing
- Patient choice guidance, NHS England, B1441, 19 December 2023. England commissioning guidance; mental health, learning disability and autism choice from 2014; remote ASD and ADHD assessments may be in scope; legal rights do not apply to self-referrals. Long-read
- NHS Standing Rules, Part 8, SI 2012/2996 as revised. SI 2023/1105 extends to England and Wales and applies to England only (in force 1 January 2024). Revised Part 8 · SI 2023/1105
- Your choices in the NHS, NHS.uk. Plain-English England patient page. NHS.uk
Secondary (geography colour only, not law):
- ADHD UK, Right to Choose hub — England only. Hub
- Psychiatry UK, Right to Choose page — their published rule that an English GP is required throughout. Page
Frequently asked questions
Does Right to Choose apply in Scotland?
No. The Choice Framework, the NHS Constitution for England, the Standing Rules and NHS England patient-choice guidance apply to England.
Does Right to Choose apply in Wales?
No. Same documents, England only.
Does Right to Choose apply in Northern Ireland?
No. Same documents, England only.
I live in Scotland / Wales / NI. Can I still use an independent ADHD clinic?
You can usually pay privately if the clinic accepts you. That is not English NHS-funded Right to Choose. Confirm any local NHS route with your own GP. This site does not refer you.
Can I register with an English GP just to use Right to Choose?
The Constitution includes a right to choose a GP practice in England unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse. This site will not coach you to game registration, and a clinic may still require an English GP throughout (Psychiatry UK says that on their RTC page). Eligibility is not a loophole we sell.
Do children in England have Right to Choose?
Yes, where the legal tests are met. The Choice Framework is all ages. A named provider may still set an age band.
Does NICE create Right to Choose in the other nations?
No. NICE guidelines are clinical. They do not create the English legal right, and they do not export it.
Next steps
- In England: eligibility · how to ask your GP · providers
- Private-pay compared with NHS-funded RTC: Private ADHD vs Right to Choose
Last reviewed: 1 September 2026
Author: Pete, editor, not a clinician
Right to Choose Pathway is an independent England-only information site. It is not the NHS, not affiliated with the NHS, not a clinic, not a diagnostic service and not a referral service.