Format/length:
HES item:
National Codes:
Default Codes:

Notes:
A doctor must always be present and available to see the PATIENT and is probably one of the following:

• consultant in charge of the clinic;
• member of the consultant firm running the clinic, such as a Senior Registrar;
• GP or other doctor acting as a clinical assistant;
• locum acting for the consultant;
• GP running a clinic, such as a maternity clinic, by special arrangement with the Health Care Provider.

Count attendances at a clinic as CONSULTANT CLINIC attendances if and only if the PATIENT actually sees a doctor. Otherwise record it as an attendance at a NURSE CLINIC or a face to face contact with another health professional. For example, you can record multi-disciplinary clinics or group therapy sessions as CONSULTANT CLINICS if a doctor is present and sees PATIENTS. Similarly, a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic can be a CONSULTANT CLINIC if a doctor is present and sees PATIENTS, otherwise the GUM clinic is classed as a NURSE CLINIC.

During an attendance at an out-patient clinic, a PATIENT may see a doctor and also see a nurse or other health professional at another clinic, for example, for dietary advice or counselling. If the nurse or health professional have their own list of PATIENTS, this attendance would need to be recorded separately as appropriate, e.g. a NURSE CLINIC attendance. 

This data element is also known by these names:

Context	Alias
plural	CONSULTANT CLINIC SESSIONS