Shared care arrangements

From 1 May 2026, Falkland Surgery will no longer accept new Shared Care Agreements (SCAs) with private providers. This includes providers operating under the Right to Choose pathway.

Any new patients registering at the surgery who were under an existing shared care agreement with a private or Right to Choose provider will need to ask the provider to take over prescribing. We can refer onward to a local NHS service.

This decision has been made due to:

• Patient safety concerns
• Variability in standards of care between providers
• The need to ensure safe ongoing monitoring and prescribing

What is a Shared Care Agreement?

A Shared Care Agreement (SCA) is an arrangement between:

• The patient
• The specialist clinician or consultant
• The GP practice

Under a shared care arrangement, responsibility for prescribing and monitoring treatment is shared between primary care and the specialist service.

General Practice Policy

The Practice will not consider requests for shared care prescribing from private providers.

For any shared care arrangement to be considered, the following criteria must be met:

• The patient’s condition must be stable or predictable
• The patient must be stabilised on their current medication dose
• Requests must be submitted in writing using a standardised Shared Care Agreement template
• The patient must remain under specialist care and be reviewed at least annually
• Medicines must be approved by the Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Medicines Management Team

Requirements for Shared Care Documentation

The Shared Care Agreement must:

• Be completed by a named, appropriately qualified, GMC-registered specialist
• Include a date and signature
• Specify the frequency of specialist review
• Include monitoring requirements and thresholds for abnormal results

Specialist Responsibilities

The specialist clinician is responsible for:

• Assessing the patient and confirming the diagnosis
• Initiating and optimising treatment
• Providing completed shared care documentation to the GP practice
• Undertaking ongoing specialist monitoring

Primary Care Responsibilities

If a Shared Care Agreement is accepted, the GP practice will:

• Prescribe medication in accordance with local formulary guidance
• Conduct annual primary care reviews
• Manage adverse effects where appropriate

Patient and Carer Responsibilities

Patients and carers are responsible for:

• Taking medication as prescribed
• Attending all monitoring and review appointments
• Reporting side effects or concerns promptly

You may wish to see the separate ADHD/ASD referral policy for the Falkland Surgery