What Is An NHS Number? (And How Do You Get One?)

If a hypnotherapist, or any other NHS-independent therapist, wishes to be able to accept referrals from their local GP, they need an NHS number. It’s a little like a supplier number and is for administration purposes only so the therapist can be paid from NHS funds in the event that they do any referral work. It’s actually called an NHS Provider Number.

Having an NHS Provider Number doesn’t mean or guarantee that the hypnotherapist will receive any work from the NHS or that the NHS approves or intends to use them at any point so just having an NHS number doesn’t really mean anything. In fact, they’re quite easy to get. All the therapist has to do is apply to the National Administrative Codes Service (NACS). There are not even any checks on the qualifications, all the applicant has to send is:

Name & address
Contact details – telephone and email
Name of therapy provided

The form is available online so you can see how simple it is. Local GP’s have the autonomy to decide whether or not they want to recommend complementary treatments and who they choose to recommend.

Having an NHS number is a good thing as the hypnotherapist can accept referrals from your GP and you can get Hypnotherapy on the NHS. However, nobody should be using their NHS number as a status symbol.

Share This