Shared Care Agreements

What is a Shared Care Agreement?

At Beech Tree Surgery, we are committed to providing safe, effective care to all our patients. One aspect of this is how we manage Shared Care Agreements (SCAs) — arrangements where the care and prescribing of certain specialist medications is shared between hospital specialists and GPs.
 
A Shared Care Agreement allows for your treatment to be started by a specialist service (e.g., hospital or mental health team) and then continued by your GP, with support and monitoring shared between both services.
 
These agreements are voluntary and not a contractual obligation for GP practices. Whether a GP agrees to a shared care request depends on whether it is clinically appropriate, safe, and feasible within the resources of primary care.

Our Approach at Beech Tree Surgery

We have traditionally accepted Shared Care Agreements from NHS secondary care services, where we can be confident in the safety, governance, and monitoring arrangements in place.
 
We have not historically entered into SCAs with private providers or some Right To Choose (RTC) providers, due to the variability in quality assurance, protocols, and the additional risks and workload this may place on primary care.
 
However, we recognise that access to certain treatments through RTC providers is important to our patients. As such, we have updated our policy and now consider Shared Care Agreements from NHS RTC providers, provided that:
 
  • The specialist provider has completed titration of the medication.
  • A robust, fit-for-purpose shared care protocol is in place.
  • The arrangement does not place an unmanageable burden on our team or compromise patient safety.
Each request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and individual GPs will retain the right to decline if they have clinical concerns.
We do not accept SCAs from private providers, in line with national guidance and our local NHS policy.

What This Means for You

If you're referred to a specialist provider (including an RTC provider), please note that we may not automatically be able to take on prescribing of certain medications through shared care. We encourage you to discuss this with your provider at the point of referral.
 
We are always happy to review shared care requests carefully and in line with our policy. Our aim is to support your treatment wherever safe and appropriate, while ensuring high standards of care for all our patients.
 
If you have any questions about Shared Care Agreements, please contact our practice team.

Page last reviewed: 24 October 2025
Page created: 24 October 2025