CONSULTANT CODE

A code uniquely identifying a CONSULTANT.

The CONSULTANT CODE is derived from either the GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER for GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS, or the GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL REGISTRATION NUMBER for GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS (where the Dentist doesn't have a GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER).

For GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS working as CONSULTANTS, the GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER's GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER should be used, see data item note for GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER (SPECIFIED).

For GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONERS  working as a:

• Hospital CONSULTANT, the GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER should be used, prefixed with "C"

• Dental CONSULTANT:

  • Who does not have a GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER, the GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL REGISTRATION NUMBER should be used, prefixed with "CD".

  • Where the GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER or GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL REGISTRATION NUMBER is not known, the default code should be used, see CONSULTANT CODE  or Organisation Data Service Default Codes.

For further information, see the Organisation Data Service  pages of the NHS England  website at:

• Supporting documents: Standards repository guide
• Miscellaneous

  .

For NHS PATIENTS treated overseas, the commissioner of the overseas treatment is responsible for assuring that the overseas doctor is provided with a GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER. In the case of overseas doctors, the default code C9999998 should only be used where no GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL REFERENCE NUMBER has been assigned.

For Commissioning Data Set  version 6-2, default CONSULTANT CODES are used to identify ACTIVITY which is led by a NURSE, MIDWIFE or ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. See CONSULTANT CODE  for the default codes.

For Commissioning Data Set  version 6-3 onwards, CONSULTANT CODE is replaced by  PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION ENTRY IDENTIFIER, which allows submission of the actual PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION  code for NURSES, MIDWIVES and ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, as well as CONSULTANTS.