Registering for a GP for the first time

[Collie86]

Hi all,

I'm returning to the UK soon and I'm planning to register for a GP for the first time. I'm looking at selecting somewhere around London or Greater London.

I read central London GPs are overwhelmed, so I don't think I should go for that. I was considering Kensington and the surrounding area. Does anyone have experience with this area?

Any advice on where to register would be great.

Thanks in advance

You can only register with a GP that serves your address. So it will depend where you live.

Surely you register with a GP near where you’ll be living?

Erm you need to register near your address?

Unless you're looking for a private GP, don't NHS GPs have catchment areas? They will only take you on if you live in their area, and if you move out of area, they will deregister you?

Maybe London is different? I've always just registered at my local surgery.

Not necessarily true. https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps/registering-with-a-gp-outside-your-area/#:~:text=You%20can%20register%20permanently%20with,GP%20surgery%20that's%20further%20away

I've had a GP that was near my work before and quite some distance from my home address as that was a lot more convenient for me.

I've always gone with the one nearest me

You don't want to travel any further than you have to if you're poorly do you

Ours (in London) wouldn’t allow that. It has to be home address and v specific area. They’re strict about it as there’s so many people.

One of the reasons for having a catchment area is to accommodate the possibility of a house call being needed.

Hi all,

I don't have an address in the UK. I will be renting an air bnb when I'm there for 1-2 weeks. I have other things to do but registering for a GP is something I've wanted to do for a while now.

You need an address before you register.

Can I use a friend's address? Is there any other way? I don't have any address of my own. My (distant) family are in the North and I don't know if they would even let me use their address.

If you’re only going to be here for 1-2 weeks then there’s no need to register with a GP. If you become ill whilst here, you can see a pharmacist, visit the nearest gp and fill out paperwork for their reimbursement, or A&E. Are you hoping to move here? If so, then you register once you have an address

I might have to end up doing this. So I can still see a GP without being registered? Might sound silly, but I've read conflicting things online.

I recently registered after moving house and had to show my council tax bill as proof of address.

Why are you so desperate to register at a GP?

If you’re only going to be here one or two weeks as seems to be the case why do you need to register with a gp?

You can see a private GP without being resident or registering with the NHS.

I’m not clear why you are so desperate to register if you’re only here for a couple of weeks though.

It begs the question though, why are you so desperate to register with a GP?

To clarify, I don't have to register ASAP, it's just something I wanted to do while there if it were possible. If I can't do it until I have an address then it will have to wait for now.

christ, I'm not desperate at all. I just can't afford tickets back and forth from the UK, might as well try to do it while there, but if an address is needed then it will have to wait as I don't have one

will you be entitled to NHS care when you return? In a real emergency treatment would be provided and questions asked later, but for less urgent things it may not be. Private GP may be your better option?

Surely you will have travel insurance???

Some countries, have a reciprocal agreement with the UK in terms of emergency care and being admitted to an NHS hospital.

Were you previously registered with a UK GP before you moved abroad? You might find you are still registered there, which might be up north from what you have said. To transfer to files to a new practice could take a minimum of 6 weeks.

Thanks for the info. I am 100% sure I'm not registered with any GPs at all.

You can’t register with a GP without an address. You can be seen as a temporary resident if you have an urgent problem, but you can’t register. But surely you wouldn’t want to register anyway, until you know where you’re likely to be living?

Apologies, it appeared from your posts that you were, seeing as you’ll only be here for a couple of weeks by your own admission

None of this makes any sense.