About Open Referral

We aim to offer a choice of consultants to help you be seen faster, potentially helping you return to work sooner. If your first choice of consultant is unavailable, an alternative consultant can be provided without the need to return to a GP for a second referral.

We will ensure that members who follow the Open Referral process are referred to a consultant who charges within our benefit limits. This means that you will not receive any additional unexpected surgical or anaesthetists bills for eligible treatment. We also ensure that consultants we offer under Open Referral do not have an unusually high overall cost of care.

The consultants we offer through Open Referral meet additional criteria in relation to how their clinical practice and customer experience compares to other consultants in their medical speciality.

Examples of areas we review include:

how many procedures a consultant has performed
the likelihood of having surgery
the use of diagnostic tests
complaints received

Where available we will offer referral to a healthcare facility within 15 miles of your home address outside London, and within five miles in London.