You may be aware that new arrangements introduced from January 2015 now give people greater choice when choosing a GP practice. Patients may approach any GP practice, even if they live outside the practice area, to see if they will be accepted on to the patient list.
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.
In Order to Assess 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. You may on occasion develop an urgent illness or injury at home that means attending the GP surgery as normal would not be appropriate and under these circumstances, please contact the practice in the first instance. If we determine you need access to services local to where you live we may ask you to call NHS 111. NHS 111 will then direct you to the local service that has been established by NHS England for patients such as you. This local service could be a GP practice near to where you live, the local walk-in or urgent care centre, A & E or minor injuries unit. This local service will then decide if you can attend for an urgent face to face appointment with a healthcare professional or if a home visit is needed, which will be based on your individual circumstances.
You should be aware that we will provide (if requested) the GP or healthcare professional with basic patient details in order that they can carry out their consultation safely and effectively. By registering as an ‘out of area’ registered patient, you are giving your consent to this information being provided.
Non-urgent advice: Notice
Note that if you need medical care during the out of hours period when GP surgeries are normally closed (between 18.30 and 08.00am weekdays, and during weekends), NHS 111 will direct you to the local out of hours care provider for your area