Chiropractor NHS
To answer your question of whether or not can I see a chiropractor on the NHS (National Health Service) the answer is Yes and No.
It is unfortunately a post code lottery as to whether your local Primary Care Trust (PCT) has a contract set up with a local chiropractic clinic that your GP can refer you to for a NHS paid chiropractor. The National Health Service in the UK classifies chiropractic as a complimentary therapy, which means it falls outside the typical NHS umbrella of medical services. So what can you do to get to see a chiropractor on the NHS? Well that is what we will try help you understand with todays chiropractic blog post.
NHS Chiropractor
A chiropractor is someone who uses the same techniques as your general practitioner (GP) to diagnose your lower back pain or neck pain for example. However, a chiropractor would most likely spend a longer time in consultation with you. This is because the average GP consultation time in the UK is 13.3 minutes ¹. Whereas a new patient seeing a chiropractor for the first time could expect to be there for 30 minutes to one hour.
The chiropractor should be asking you questions about your health history and then performing a physical examination on you to help diagnose your source of pain. The chiropractor may also feel the need to refer you for special investigations like an x-ray, MRI or CAT scan or back to your GP for further blood test if needed to help diagnose your back pain. Before performing any treatment the chiropractor would explain their findings to you so that you should understand why you have pain and what you choices are to get back pain relief.
Did you know that “Musculo-skeletal system & connective tissue” problems account for the second most popular reason a patient in the UK would want to consult with their local GP. This is just behind the most common reason of problems with the “respiratory system” and just ahead of the third most popular problem with the “skin and subcutaneous system”.
So this means in the UK GP’s are very busy with seeing patients everyday with a muscle & joints aches and pains. So then what if you wanted to see a chiropractor on the NHS instead of your GP? Read on to find out more about the NHS health decision chain.
Primary Care Trusts Contracts
If you live in England then the people who decide what health services you will get in your area are called the Primary Care Trust. In Scotland & Wales it is known as the local Health Board, in Northern Ireland it is called the local Health and Social Service Board.
The Primary Care Trust will approve an Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) contract with chiropractic clinic in their area to provide chiropractic treatment for a group of GP’s in an areas patients. So this means that the GP may refer a patient to have chiropractic on the NHS only if the chiropractic clinic has an approved Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) contract with the local Primary Care Trust. So how do you know if your GP can refer you to a NHS chiropractor? Well you need to ask them the GP or the PCT.
Local GP practices decide what health services they want to provide patients in their area. The GP’s come together to form a GP consortia who would then ask the local PCT or health board to approve chiropractic services for their patients on the NHS. The GP consortia would do this if patients in their practices were asking to see a chiropractor on the NHS.
So this means that you have to ask to receive. Only if your GP knows that you would like to see a chiropractor for your back pain could they then tell you if they can refer you to see a chiropractor on the NHS. Or they could refer you but you would have to pay privately for you chiropractic treatment & consultation. But, by asking your GP to see a chiropractor means they are aware that there is a need from patients in their area who are looking for chiropractic services so they could look to apply for the PCT approval.
So at the moment in the UK not many GP’s can refer you to see a chiropractor on the NHS unfortunately. This means you would have to pay privately for any chiropractic treatment. If you have medical insurance like BUPA or PPP then you can also try claim for you chiropractic care through insurance instead. A typical new patient first visit consultation with a UK chiropractor can cost between £30-80 with follow-up chiropractic treatments costing between £25-50.
NHS Chiropractor Conclusion
It is possible to see a chiropractor on the NHS, but difficult currently. Your local GP practice would need to apply to the local Primary Care Trust or Health Board to have a chiropractic clinic in your area approved for an Alternative Provider Medical Service (APMS) contract. Only then would your GP be able to send you directly for any chiropractic treatment paid by the NHS. Until then most people in the UK pay privately or use medical insurance to cover chiropractic treatment.
If you decide to see a chiropractor yourself you can try find a chiropractor here or read more what a typical first visit to a chiropractor is like here. Remember that all UK chiropractors must be registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) by law. If you have managed to get your chiropractic treatment on the NHS why not let us know where by leaving a comment below.
Reading:
