Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what legislative steps his Department is taking to ensure that GP practices assess shared care requests on a case-by-case basis; and whether he plans to introduce legislation to improve consistency and equity in shared care arrangements for patients with mental health diagnoses.

There are currently no plans to introduce legislation for shared care arrangements.

Shared care arrangements between a general practitioner (GP) and a specialist are voluntary agreements and are not a part of the GP Contract. GPs do not receive additional funding for taking part in shared care agreements and are able to refuse participation if they think they do not have capacity, or it is not clinically appropriate.

The General Medical Council’s guidance helps GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities. In deciding whether to enter into a shared care arrangement, a GP will need to consider a number of factors to determine whether it is within their sphere of competence, and therefore safe and suitable for their patient’s needs. This includes being satisfied that any prescriptions or referrals for treatment are clinically appropriate.

These processes apply to all shared care requests, including those involving patients with a mental health diagnosis.