In the report published in December, Shah said even when a GP was told about a patient receiving private psychiatric treatment, it did not trigger a notification to NHS mental health services.
“Notification of the dual treatment may then be entirely dependent upon the information being shared by the patient,” he said.
Shah quoted a patient safety incident investigation (PSII) that found there was “no protocol for patients open to private and NHS psychiatry at Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust”, and it was “problematic” if two psychiatric consultants were overseeing the same patient.
“It can cause confusion and detriment to the patient if medication changes are not communicated between parties and represents a risk to patient safety,” the PSII report found.