How we work with doctors at University College Hospital Private Care
The CMA Order
In October 2014, the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") published the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014 (the "CMA Order"). The CMA Order requires private hospital operators (such as HCA UK) to disclose on their websites certain information relating to the way the private hospitals interact with referring clinicians; that is a clinician that has practising privileges and/or has the ability to refer patients for treatment or tests at a private hospital.
Full details about the investigation and the Order can be found on the CMA web page: here. The information disclosed on this page is supplied in accordance with the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014.
It is important that HCA is transparent about our relationship with doctors and we therefore set out below some of the ways in which we work together.
We would welcome your feedback on the way this information has been presented. Please contact us by email using the link here.
This information disclosed on this page is supplied in accordance with the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014.
This facility does not operate any joint ventures with referring clinicians.
On occasion, HCA UK provides general corporate hospitality at social events to which doctors are invited (such as Christmas parties) or educational events (such as service line demonstrations or symposia). Such hospitality is proportionate and reasonable and is not provided by HCA UK with the intention of inducing referrals or rewarding the referring clinician for making or having made referrals to HCA UK. It is important that we are transparent about the frequency and cost of these events. In all cases, the stated cost includes food and drink (where this cost is paid by HCA to an external party), plus the cost of hiring any non-HCA venue used. Where it is sensible to do so (e.g. a dinner) we will typically publish the cost per attendee; but where the total cost is fixed irrespective of attendees, we will normally state the number of people invited to the event.
Since 1 January 2023, this Hospital has hosted the following Events:
- The HCA UK at University College Hospital annual winter party in November 2023 costing £169.35 for each invited guest.
Secretarial and administrative services:
HCA sometimes employs medical secretaries to liaise with patients, deal with correspondence, make appointments and handle patients’ enquiries on doctors’ behalf. Sometimes, medical secretaries work for more than one doctor. They help to manage complex processes such as payroll, making administration efficient both for doctors and – most importantly – our patients. Medical secretarial services are made available on a non-discriminatory basis and on equivalent terms in accordance with the CMA Order. We charge doctors for using this service at Fair Market Value (FMV).
HCA charges the following (inclusive of VAT) for secretarial and administrative services:
| Facility | Hourly rate charged by HCA (£) |
| HCA UK at University College Hospital | 24.00 |
A full time medical secretary service (where provided) is charged as 1875 hours per year.
Consulting rooms and desks for administrative staff:
HCA UK considers that doctors must be able to see our patients without delay, and in close proximity to our diagnostic and treatment facilities. In order to achieve this, we licence our consulting rooms to doctors and other referring clinicians on an hourly basis at fair market value which we estimate by reference to the cost of equivalent services in the same geographical locality.
We also license administration desks for use by referring clinicians’ own administrative staff on a full or half day basis, at fair market value which we estimate by reference to the cost of equivalent services in the same geographical locality.
Consulting rooms and administration desks are made available on a non-discriminatory basis and on equivalent terms in accordance with the Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014.
HCA charges the following (inclusive of VAT) for consulting rooms:
| Facility | Hourly rate charged by HCA (£) |
| HCA UK at University College Hospital | 25.00 |
The (VAT-inclusive) day rates for administration desks (for use by referring clinicians’ own administrative staff) are £38 for a desk in a private office and £32 for a desk in a shared office area; half-day usage (less than four hours) is charged at 50% of these rates.
In recognition of the administrative saving in doing so HCA offers a ‘committed annual room licence’ arrangement to referring clinicians who are no more than three months in arrears of payments due to HCA for consulting room usage or medical secretarial services. For referring clinicians wishing to participate in this arrangement, HCA offers a 25% discount from the hourly rates above where the referring clinician commits to regular use of consulting room space for a 12-month period, payment for which must be made by monthly standing order or direct debit. HCA takes account of bank holidays in the monthly fee charged and provides a credit to the individual’s account in the event the consulting room is not available because of closure of the relevant facility, but there is otherwise no reduction or refund if the room is not used, including for reasons of referring clinician sickness, holiday or where a patient cancels or fails to attend their booked appointment.
Similarly, HCA offers discounted rates for the hiring of administration desks (half-day and full-day) for a 12-month commitment on the same terms as those set out above for the ‘committed annual room licence’ arrangement. That committed annual discount for an admin desk currently reduces the daily fee to £28 for a desk in a private office and £24 for a desk in a shared office area.
The following low-value services are provided free-of-charge to referring clinicians with practising privileges at HCA facilities:
- General services to ensure appropriate clinical care (such as in-house training, chaperones)
- Workplace amenities (e.g. free/subsidised tea and coffee including for patients, on-site meals, stationery)
- General marketing (such as general promotional events, consultant directories and internet profiles)
Some HCA UK facilities have (or have access to) car parking spaces. Where these spaces are made available to doctors, it is on a first-come, first-served basis. Where spaces are made available to staff and/or doctors, HCA does not charge for these.
A number of doctors provide us with clinical guidance on how to deliver the best possible care to patients and run our hospitals safely and efficiently. We pay those doctors for this service at Fair Market Value (FMV) and we use an independent company to provide assurance around our FMV calculations.
Many of these doctors work at more than one HCA facility. For ease of reference, therefore, you can find more information on any such medical advisory positions (including payments made by HCA to the doctor) on your doctor’s HCA biography webpage.