Moving area while under NHS specialist care – guidance for Sussex patients
If you are currently under the care of an NHS hospital consultant and move to Sussex, your specialist care should continue safely and without unnecessary delay.
This page explains what usually happens, based on NHS England guidance and how services operate across NHS Sussex.
Ongoing NHS specialist care:
If you are receiving active or ongoing secondary-care treatment (for example follow-up after surgery, ongoing investigations, or management of a long-term or complex condition), this is usually regarded as a continuation of the same episode of care.
In these circumstances:
Your existing NHS hospital consultant can arrange a consultant-to-consultant transfer of care to an appropriate specialist service in Sussex.
- This means your care is handed over directly between hospital specialists.
- A new GP referral is not usually required if you have not been formally discharged from secondary care.
This approach is supported by NHS England’s Consultant to Consultant Referrals – Good Practice Guide, which promotes continuity of care and avoidance of unnecessary re-referral via primary care.
How this works in Sussex:
Across NHS Sussex, specialist services and GP practices operate in line with national NHS guidance. Sussex Integrated Care System (ICS) planned care programmes reference the implementation of consultant-to-consultant referral pathways, and local NHS Trust policies (including University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust Patient Access Policy) incorporate consultant-to-consultant and inter-provider transfers within their referral and access arrangements.
This means that, where clinically appropriate, ongoing specialist care should be transferred by the treating consultant to a Sussex-based specialist service.
How we can support you:
When you register with our practice:
- We can help confirm whether you remain under active specialist care providing we have access to your most recent clinic letters.
- We can support communication with your existing consultant.
- Where appropriate, we can ask your consultant to arrange a consultant-to-consultant transfer to a Sussex service.
Please note: GPs cannot directly transfer care between hospital specialists, but we can support and request that this process is carried out by the treating consultant.
When a new GP referral may be required:
A new GP referral may be needed if:
- You have been formally discharged from hospital care.
- Your symptoms represent a new or unrelated condition.
- The hospital specialist has advised that ongoing secondary-care follow-up is no longer required.
If this applies, we can discuss the most appropriate next steps with you.
What you can do to help avoid delays:
- Tell us when you register if you are under an NHS hospital consultant.
- Provide copies of clinic letters, inform us of any medication you are currently taking that is supplied under a ‘shared care agreement’ between your specialist and previous GP, appointment details, or investigation results if available.
- Let us know if surgery, investigations, or follow-up appointments are outstanding.
Please note: We strongly advise you also read our practice policy on shared care prescribing here.
If there are difficulties arranging transfer of care, we can advise you on next steps, including contacting the hospital team or Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
Our commitment:
We aim to support safe, timely continuity of care for patients moving into Sussex while under NHS specialist treatment, in line with NHS England guidance and local Sussex NHS arrangements.
If you have questions about your individual situation, please contact the practice for advice.
NHS guidance referenced:
- NHS England – Consultant to Consultant Referrals: Good Practice Guide
- NHS England – Patient Choice Guidance (continuity of consultant-led care)
- Sussex Integrated Care System – Planned Care Programme documentation (consultant-to-consultant referral implementation)
- University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust – Patient Access Policy
Carisbrooke Surgery – December 2025