Primary care is the health care administered by a health care provider. This provider is the first point of contact for patients and they can then arrange other specialists that the patient may need during the pathway of their care. The main provider is a General Practitioner (GP) who can then refer the patient on to secondary care.

Secondary care is defined as a service provided by medical specialties who generally do not have first contact with patients. Secondary care is usually delivered in Hospitals or clinics and patients have usually been referred to secondary care by their primary care provider, usually their GP.

Secondary care also includes Accident and Emergency, Maternity, Intensive Care and Imaging.