How to compare Right to Choose providers
Every provider advertises a wait. Very few advertise what happens after the diagnosis, which is where the differences actually are.
Compare Right to Choose providers on five things: whether they hold the relevant NHS contract, their current quoted wait, whether they titrate in-house, who signs the diagnostic formulation, and what post-diagnostic support is included. Price is irrelevant, because Right to Choose care is free.
right to choose providers uk | Reviewed August 2026
| Question to ask | Good answer | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Do you hold an NHS contract for my area? | Yes, named and current | Vague or partial answer |
| Current wait to assessment? | A specific figure, recently updated | Only a range, never updated |
| Do you titrate in-house? | Yes, with a stated wait | Referral back to your GP |
| Who signs the formulation? | A named specialist role | Unclear or unanswered |
| Post-diagnostic support? | Specific, listed inclusions | Generic signposting |
Contracts first
Right to Choose only applies to providers holding an NHS contract for the service, in your area. A provider offering rapid assessment for a fee is a private pathway. Both can be legitimate, but they are different things and the cost to you is not the same.
Read the wait properly
Ask what the wait measures. Some providers quote from referral acceptance, others from the date the referral was received, and a few quote a target rather than an actual. Also ask for the second wait: diagnosis to titration start. That is the figure that determines when treatment actually begins.
Clinical governance signals
Ask who signs the diagnostic formulation and what supervision structure sits behind the assessors. Strong providers answer immediately and specifically, because the structure is their operating model. Weak ones describe the software.
Post-diagnostic support
Support after diagnosis ranges from a full psychoeducation programme with workplace adjustment letters to a PDF and a signpost. It is rarely advertised clearly, and it is the largest quality gap in the market.
If you are the provider
Everything above is a workforce question wearing an operational disguise. Waits, supervision, titration capacity and post-diagnostic support all resolve to whether the right clinicians are in place. Scale Health builds those benches, credentialed and clinic-ready, for regulated UK providers.
Common questions
- Is there an official list of Right to Choose providers?
- There is no single national list. Providers publish their own eligibility and coverage, and your GP practice can confirm whether a named provider holds the relevant NHS contract.
- Can I switch provider if the wait gets longer?
- Generally yes, though switching restarts the process with the new provider. Weigh the remaining wait against starting again before you move.
- Are independent providers held to NHS standards?
- Yes. NHS-contracted providers are regulated by the CQC and must meet the standards attached to their contract, including clinical governance and reporting requirements.
Keep reading
Right to Choose autism assessment
The legal right is straightforward. The bottleneck is provider capacity, and that is a workforce problem before it is a policy one.
ReadRight to Choose ADHD assessment
Assessment is no longer the hard part. Getting medication titrated and shared care accepted is where the pathway breaks.
ReadRight to Choose waiting times in 2026
Quoted waits are a capacity readout. When a provider's wait doubles, it almost always means a clinician left, not that demand spiked.
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Running a Right to Choose service?
Scale Health builds the clinical benches these pathways depend on: assessors, independent prescribers, supervising clinicians and consultant psychiatrists, credentialed before they start.