New Patients

You can register temporarily with a GP surgery while away from home for work, study or on holiday. You’ll remain registered with your permanent GP surgery.

Registering with a GP as a temporary resident – NHS – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Details of any treatment you have will be passed  to your permanent GP surgery. They will add the information to your medical records.

Out of area registration (with or without home visits) is voluntary for GP practices meaning patients may be refused because they live out of area.

If your application is considered, the GP practice will only register you without home visits if it is clinically appropriate and practical in your individual case. To do this we may:

• Ask you or the practice you are currently registered with questions about your health to help decide whether to register you in this way
• Ask you questions about why it is practical for you to attend this practice (for example, how many days during the week you would normally be able to attend)

If accepted, you will attend the practice and receive the full range of services provided as normal at the surgery. If you have an urgent care need and the surgery cannot help you at home we may ask you to call NHS 111 and they will put you in touch with a local service (this may be a face to face appointment with a local healthcare professional or a home visit where necessary).

We may decide that it is not in your best interests or practical for you to be registered in this way. In these circumstances we may offer you registration with home visits, for example, if you live just outside the practice area or we may not register you and advise you should seek to register (or remain registered) with a more local practice.

If accepted but your health needs change we may review your registration to see if it would be more appropriate for you to be registered with a GP practice closer to your home.

For further information visit the NHS Choices website (www.nhs.uk)

Those who visit the UK from overseas must pay for their care when they are in England.

In 2015 changes were made to how the NHS charges overseas visitors for healthcare so the NHS does not lose out on income for the services these patients have received.

Sometimes when filling in online forms or speaking with our staff, you may be asked for your NHS number.

This online tool will help you find your number if you do not know it.

These fact sheets have been written to explain the role of UK health services, the National Health Service (NHS), to newly-arrived individuals seeking asylum. They cover issues such as the role of GPs, their function as gatekeepers to the health services, how to register and how to access emergency services.

Special care has been taken to ensure that information is given in clear language, and the content and style has been tested with user groups.

Open the leaflets in one of the following languages: