Is there a minimum number of hours I need to work as a private GP?

There is no minimum

Our original answer was right: there is no minimum. With appropriate regulation and indemnity, you can deliver private care full time, a few sessions a week, or on an occasional basis with slots patients book into.

Nothing in GMC guidance or the CQC regulations sets a number of hours for a GP to be allowed to work privately. Your licence to practise depends on revalidation, not on hours worked. Many GPs start with one private session a week alongside NHS work. See why GPs move into private work.

What does exist is a set of practical limits. They matter most if you plan to do very little private work, or none in the NHS.

The practical limits

Revalidation needs enough practice to show

You need an annual appraisal that covers your whole scope of practice, including private work. Over each five-year cycle, the GMC expects supporting information such as quality improvement activity and feedback from patients and colleagues.

With only a handful of private consultations a year, that evidence is thin. The GMC accepts that feedback should be proportionate to the number of patients you see, and asks you to discuss any difficulty with your appraiser. Plan how you will evidence the private work before you start. See appraisal and revalidation for private GPs.

Keeping your skills current

Your CPD has to keep you up to date across everything you do. If your only clinical work is occasional private sessions, think honestly about whether you see enough patients to stay safe and confident, especially in areas such as acute presentations or prescribing. See finding CPD as a private GP.

The NHS performers list

This is the limit that catches people. Under the 2013 Performers Lists Regulations in England, NHS England may remove you from the performers list if you cannot show you have performed NHS GP services in the preceding twelve months. Some periods are disregarded, such as suspension.

Leaving the list does not stop you working privately, but it does change your responsible officer and appraisal route. Coming back to NHS general practice later can mean reapplying to the list. In England, NHS England’s Return to Practice programme is one route back for GPs who have previously been on the GP Register and the performers list. Ask your local NHS England team what would apply to you before you let NHS work lapse.

Indemnity

Indemnity for private work is usually priced on what you do and how much of it. Tell your provider your real pattern of work, and tell them when it changes. See what drives indemnity costs.

Running your own service part time

If you register your own service, patients’ needs do not stop between your sessions. Results come back, patients send messages and some become unwell. You need a plan for who handles these when you are not working. The CQC’s registration rules also depend on who is in day-to-day charge of the service, so check how they apply if you run it part time. See running a private practice by yourself.

An employer’s terms

If you work for a private provider rather than for yourself, the provider may ask for a minimum commitment, such as a set number of sessions a month or cover on certain days. That is a contract term, not a regulation, so it is open to negotiation. See sessional private GP work.

Common working patterns

Pattern	Suits	Watch for
Occasional sessions for a provider	Trying private work with little commitment	Enough cases to evidence at appraisal
One regular session a week	Building a patient base alongside NHS work	Clear separation from your NHS role
Several sessions a week	A portfolio career or growing your own service	Cover for results and messages between sessions
Fully private	GPs who have left NHS general practice	A new revalidation connection and the performers list

Patients value regular, predictable availability. A fixed weekly session is often easier to build a following around than scattered ad hoc slots, even if the total hours are the same.

Fitting it around NHS work

If you keep an NHS role, your private hours must fit around your NHS commitments and any contract or partnership terms. NHS practices also face strict rules on charging their own patients. See working in the NHS and privately and restrictions on seeing private patients.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

There is no minimum for private work anywhere in the UK. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own performers lists and rules for staying on them. In Northern Ireland, for example, an annual appraisal is a condition of remaining on the performers list. Check the rules in your nation before reducing NHS work.