Refer a patient to Mr Marco Scarci.
Consultant thoracic surgeon, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Private practice at five London hospitals. Lung, pleural, mediastinal, diaphragm and chest wall surgery — malignant and benign.
- Urgent referrals seen the same day
- Fee-assured with Bupa and AXA Health
- Letter back to you within 24 hours of consultation
Secure referral portal
Send the referral online
Secure portal. About two minutes. Attach imaging, letters and insurance details. Acknowledged the same business day.
Open the referral form →or go direct to referpatient.to/mr-marco-scarci
Three ways to refer
The portal is the preferred route for routine referrals. For urgent cases, call — do not wait for the portal.
Refer online — ReferPatient.to
Secure portal. About two minutes. Attach imaging, letters and insurance details. Acknowledged the same business day.
referpatient.to/mr-marco-scarci →Email [email protected]
Attach the referral letter and report. Please avoid sending images by email — use the portal, a disc or IEP instead.
[email protected]WhatsApp: Quick questions about scope, timing or insurance only. Not for patient-identifiable clinical detail. Message the practice on WhatsApp →
“Send me the difficult ones. The patient with rib pain nobody can explain, the nodule that keeps getting re-scanned, the person who has been told surgery isn’t an option. I’d rather look at a scan and tell you there’s nothing to add than have a patient wait months for that answer. And if the right plan is for them to stay with you or with their NHS team, I’ll say so in the letter.”
Mr Marco Scarci — Consultant Thoracic Surgeon
Correspondence comes from Mr Scarci, not from a rotating team
The practice is built around one surgeon seeing the patient through.
Acknowledgement — same business day
Namita confirms receipt, checks insurance authorisation and requests any imaging not attached.
Appointment offered — within 24–48 hours
Urgent cases the same day. Remote consultation available for patients outside London or unable to travel.
Imaging reviewed before the consultation
CT, PET-CT, MRI and letters are read in advance so the consultation produces a diagnosis and a plan, not a request for more information.
Clinic letter to you — within 24 hours of consultation
Diagnosis, options discussed, agreed plan and timeline. Copied to the patient and, where relevant, their NHS team.
Histology — within 24 hours of the lab report
Results are discussed with the patient by telephone by Mr Scarci personally, then copied to you.
Operation note and discharge summary — on discharge
With follow-up arrangements, red flags for the patient, and what you may be asked to do in primary care.
Shared care — ongoing
Where care continues under the NHS — oncology, surveillance imaging, rehabilitation — Mr Scarci coordinates the handover personally.
Urgent and same-day referrals
Call 020 7459 4367 and say the referral is urgent. Do not wait for the portal. Same-day review is available for:
Surgical opinion needed this week
A new CT or PET-CT that needs a surgical opinion this week.
Rib fractures for fixation
The window for rib plating is days, not weeks. Call if fixation is being considered.
Pneumothorax not resolving
Recurrent or persistent pneumothorax, or a chest drain that is not resolving.
Pleural infection
Pleural infection not responding to drainage and antibiotics.
Told surgery isn’t possible — time-sensitive
A patient who has been told surgery is not possible and where the decision is time-sensitive.
Out-of-hours urgent queries
The same office number is staffed 24/7 — call 020 7459 4367 any time, day or night.
What is and isn’t offered
The practice covers the full range of general thoracic surgery in adults, with VATS or robotic approaches wherever clinically appropriate. Three things are deliberately not offered, so you can route them correctly first time.
Cardiac surgery
Signposted to a cardiac surgical colleague.
Oesophageal and upper GI surgery
Signposted to an upper GI surgeon.
Radical surgery for mesothelioma
Not offered. Diagnostic VATS, pleural biopsy and pleural fluid management are offered.
Adolescent chest wall deformity (Nuss / pectus): surgery is offered from age 16; conservative treatment (bracing) is accepted from age 8. For a full list of conditions treated, see the conditions page.
Clinician advice line
Not every question needs a referral. If you want to run a scan report, a symptom pattern or a borderline case past Mr Scarci before deciding, you can.
Email — replied within one business day
Email [email protected] with the subject “Clinician query” — replied to within one business day.
Call back from Mr Scarci — same day for urgent
Call 020 7459 4367 and ask for a call back from Mr Scarci. Same day for urgent questions.
→ Please keep clinical detail out of WhatsApp. Use email or the portal for anything patient-identifiable
What to include in a referral
Anything missing can be gathered by the practice, but a complete referral means the first consultation ends with a plan.
Patient details
- Patient name, date of birth, phone number and email
- Best contact person if different, with the patient’s consent
- Insurer, membership number and pre-authorisation number — or self-pay
- Reason for referral and urgency: routine, urgent or same day
Clinical information
- Imaging — CT, PET-CT, MRI or X-ray: portal upload, disc, PACS link or IEP transfer. The report alone is enough for triage.
- Relevant clinic letters, MDT outcome and histology, if any
- Current medications, including anticoagulants and antiplatelets
- Significant comorbidities and performance status
- Anything the patient has already been told about surgery
- How you would like the reply letter: email, secure portal or post
All major UK insurers accepted
Bupa, AXA Health, Aviva, Vitality, Cigna, WPA and Healix among others. Mr Scarci is fee-assured with Bupa and AXA Health, so open-referral and fee-approved pathways can be used.
Pre-authorisation and direct billing
The practice obtains pre-authorisation and bills the insurer directly. The patient pays only their excess. Mr Scarci is fee-assured with Bupa and AXA Health.
All-inclusive written quote before any procedure
An initial consultation is £300–£400 depending on hospital. 0% finance is available. Self-pay patients can check costs with the cost estimator.
Cost estimator →Teaching for referrers
Short, practical sessions for clinicians who see these patients first. Delivered online or at your practice; CPD certificates provided.
Rib pain that isn’t muscular
Slipping rib syndrome, stress fractures, non-union and when to refer.
The incidental nodule: the first 48 hours
What the report means, what to tell the patient, BTS follow-up made simple.
Told it’s inoperable
What a surgical second opinion actually re-examines.
Request a session: Email [email protected] with “CPD session” in the subject.
Where patients are seen
Outpatient consultations at five sites. Surgery is arranged at the site that suits the procedure and the patient’s insurer. Remote consultations available on any day.
The Wellington Hospital — 11:00am – 1:00pm
8A Wellington Place, St John’s Wood, NW8 9LE
The London Clinic — 5:30pm – 7:30pm
20 Devonshire Place, Marylebone, W1G 6BW
HCA Elstree — 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Beaufort House, Elstree Road, Borehamwood, WD6 3BS
Imperial Private Healthcare — 9:00am – 11:00am
Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, W12 0HS
Bupa Cromwell Hospital — 9:30am – 12:30pm
164–178 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, SW5 0TU
Full location details with transport and parking on the contact page.
Common questions
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No. Patients can self-refer and clinicians of any specialty can refer directly. Some insurers require a GP referral for reimbursement; that can be issued in parallel and does not delay the appointment.
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Yes. A private consultation does not affect NHS entitlement. Mr Scarci writes to the NHS team with the outcome, and patients can have surgery privately and continue NHS oncology or follow-up — or return to NHS care entirely.
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Upload through the ReferPatient.to portal, send a disc, or arrange an IEP transfer to the Bupa Cromwell Hospital. No reference number is needed — the practice sorts out the transfer directly. The written report alone is enough to triage urgency and book the appointment; the practice then requests the images.
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Yes. Much of the chest wall practice — slipping rib syndrome, costochondritis, rib stress fractures and non-union, thoracic outlet syndrome — is referred by musculoskeletal clinicians who recognise pain that isn’t behaving like a muscular problem. Patients return to you for rehabilitation.
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Referrals are acknowledged the same business day. Urgent patients are seen the same day; routine new patients within 24–48 hours. A clinic letter follows the consultation, and histology is copied to you once it has been discussed with the patient.
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Cardiac surgery, oesophageal and upper GI surgery, and radical surgery for mesothelioma. Diagnostic VATS, pleural biopsy and pleural fluid management for mesothelioma are offered. Anything outside scope is signposted to an appropriate colleague rather than left with you to re-route.
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Yes. The first consultation can be remote, with imaging reviewed in advance. Patients travel only if a procedure is planned. See international patients.
Refer a patient
The portal takes about two minutes and accepts imaging and documents. For anything urgent, call — the practice will not make an urgent patient wait for paperwork.
020 7459 4367
