Working with Consultants at Fairfield Independent Hospital

All the Consultants who work at Fairfield Independent Hospital are independent practitioners and have personal responsibility for the care they deliver. They are not employees of the hospital but they are required to operate according to Fairfield’s policies and procedures when practising here. The majority of our Consultants are employed by the NHS, and may work across a number of other independent providers.

Each Consultant is listed on the General Medical Council (GMC) medical register and undergoes a thorough vetting and interview process before being granted “practising privileges”   at Fairfield Independent Hospital.

Whilst Consultants are responsible for clinical decision-making and the quality of the care they deliver, Fairfield is responsible for ensuring that there are systems of monitoring and oversight in place, designed to ensure that Consultants practise in accordance with all hospital policies and in line with their practising privileges. All Consultants are required to maintain adequate minimum levels of medical malpractice indemnity cover, in keeping with GMC guidance, and at Fairfield we  undertakes regular  checks to ensure that indemnity certificates are in place. The Hospital has arrangements in place for provision in the event a patient has to return to the Hospital and there are arrangements in place for the transfer of patients who made need higher levels of care than can be provided on site.

The relationship you have with each Consultant involved in your treatment (including anaesthetists) exists as a separate legal relationship alongside your relationship with the hospital. If you are a private patient, you or your insurer will usually be invoiced separately by each Consultant involved in your treatment, and by the hospital, although in some instances we may be able to act as a fee-collecting agent for the Consultants to make the payment process easier.

You can find out more about the Consultant providing your care on our website and on the Private Healthcare Information Network website.