How this sits alongside your NHS care
A private second opinion does not replace your NHS care or your options within it. Here is how the two fit together.
You can ask for an NHS second opinion too
The General Medical Council, which regulates doctors, states that all doctors must “respect the patient’s right to seek a second opinion.” As NHS trust guidance puts it, a healthcare professional will consider your circumstances and whether a second opinion is needed. If you would like an NHS second opinion, the usual route is to go back to your GP and ask them to refer you again, explaining that this is specifically for a second opinion; your GP can then send your relevant test results or scans to the new team. Being referred for a second opinion does not automatically mean the new team takes over your care: you are treated as a new patient referral. See King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s guidance on seeking a second opinion.
A private second opinion is another route
This service is a private alternative or supplement to that NHS route. People choose it for different reasons: to be seen sooner, to see a specific surgeon, or simply because they would rather pay for a face-to-face appointment than go back through their GP. Neither route is right or wrong; they are different ways of getting the same kind of independent clinical review.
You keep your NHS place
Seeing Professor Lee privately for a second opinion does not remove you from any NHS waiting list or cancel any NHS referral or follow-up you already have. Those continue unless you actively choose to change them. What you do with the opinion, including whether you mention it to your NHS team, is entirely your decision; see after your second opinion.
What this service does not do
It does not transfer your NHS care, arrange NHS treatment on your behalf, or act as a complaint or dispute process about care you have already received. It is a clinical second opinion: an independent view to help you decide what to do next.