Private practitioners should treat, not just assess

I agree with Salisbury on the fallout from the rise in private referrals.1 As a private practitioner in child and adolescent psychiatry, I believe I have the privilege of criticising my kind.

If we assess, we should treat, and if we treat, we should continue treating. Therefore, I would not make an assessment and then expect a GP to prescribe outside their competence; I would prescribe myself. This might mean transferring my patient to my concessionary rates, which most of my client families can afford, or occasionally doing the work free. Once I start prescribing, I have a duty of care to continue doing so, whether I am paid or not. Others would probably disagree.