Changing NHS consultant or hospital

Hello! I am Gemma, a legal assistant here at Lawyer Destroyer. I would be happy to help explain your options for changing your NHS consultant or hospital.

The short answer is yes, you usually can ask to switch consultants or hospitals, but how exactly it works depends on what stage of treatment you are at.

Legal position:

In England, the NHS Constitution gives you the legal right to choose your hospital and your consultant-led team when you are first referred for a physical or mental health outpatient appointment by your GP. The NHS in Wales operates slightly differently, but still strongly supports the principle that patients should be able to ask for a second opinion or a change of doctor if things are not working out.

Once you have already started treatment or are under the ongoing care of a specific consultant, you do not have an absolute statutory right to demand a change to another specific doctor. However, the NHS recognises that the relationship between a doctor and a patient is built on mutual trust. If you are unhappy, or simply want a second opinion, it is considered standard good practice for the NHS to accommodate a transfer of care to someone else.

Practical considerations:

Before you make a switch, it is worth keeping a few practical things in mind. Transferring hospitals or consultants can sometimes cause a delay in your treatment. Your medical notes will need to be securely transferred, and the new medical team will need time to review your case and add you to their clinic list. You might also have to travel further for your appointments, so it is sensible to weigh up whether a better relationship with a new consultant is worth a potential wait.

Practical next steps:

If you have decided you would like to switch, here is a sensible order of steps you can take.

1. Ask for a second opinion
You can simply ask your current consultant or their medical secretary if your care can be transferred to another colleague within the same hospital, often framed as a request for a second opinion. Doctors handle these requests regularly, and it is usually the quickest and least stressful way to switch.

2. Get help from PALS or Llais
If you feel awkward speaking to your current team or if they are unhelpful, you can contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service at your hospital if you are in England. If you are in Wales, you can contact Llais, the independent body that supports patients. They are friendly, impartial, and can act as a go-between to informally arrange a transfer of care to a different doctor without you having to argue your case.

3. Go back to your GP
Your GP is essentially the manager of your overall NHS care. If you want to move to a completely different hospital trust, your GP can help. You can ask them to cancel your current referral and issue a brand new referral to a different hospital or consultant of your choice.

4. Make a formal complaint
If your informal requests for a transfer are unreasonably refused, or if you feel your care has been dangerous or deeply unprofessional, you can trigger the official NHS complaints procedure. Every hospital has a complaints department. This is a much more formal and stressful route which can take months to resolve, so it is usually best kept as a last resort if PALS or your GP cannot fix the problem first.

Missing information to keep in mind:

To give you the most precise guidance, it would be helpful to know if you are at the very beginning of your referral or already midway through a course of treatment, and whether you are living in England or Wales, as the exact rules on referral choices vary slightly between the two.

I hope this helps give you a clear path forward and makes the process feel a little less daunting. Please let me know if you need help with any of these steps!