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

I get what you mean. I think there is some confusion. I thought it was something I could do while I was there for 1-2 weeks. I wasn't aware I have to have a perm address etc.

If it requires a long-term address then I'll to have one before I can go ahead.

I'm unsure why you are so sure you don't still have a UK GP? My understanding is that they don't de-register you after a certain time. Did you not have a GP as a child or before you moved abroad?

I've asked for records and I cannot find any unfortunately and there is no urgency to register, I just thought I would look into it for the duration I was there.

Are you coming to the UK for a few weeks, then returning to your current country before permanently relocating to the UK? Have I read /guessed that correctly?
If so, then I would wait until you are here permanently before registering. But make sure you have enough of any meds to tide you over while you register. I'm not sure if you still need to see a GP or nurse in person when you are new to a practice, but that might take a while to sort so not best if you're travelling back and forth.

Thanks all.
I will get an address once I'm perm back in the UK then register.

You have some kind of “ambition” to resister for primary care? Slightly odd thing to say.

Do you have healthcare where you live now?

Are you a UK citizen? Have you lived here before? Or just visited?

Hi - there's really no need for an interrogation. It's a harmless question about registration requirements and that's it. I wasn't aware I needed a long term address. I don't need any urgent care, I just wanted to sort it out WHILE I was there as I've said to other posters who have asked.

As another poster kindly pointed out, it will take some time and if it's not urgent, it's best to wait, so I will do that.

Unless you’re legally domiciled here, it’s more complicated - and expensive - than just registering for NHS services.

Once you are legally domiciled here, you just go to nhs.uk, enter your postcode and find a surgery that covers your area. Then you fill out a form and take your documents to the practice. It’s easy.

You will have an existing NHS number if you were a previous resident. If you give them the details, they’ll trace you.

It’s not an interrogation. I was trying to help.

Your legal domicile is germane.

A house call 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 sorry couldn’t help it

it's ok, I understand the requirements better and since it will take some time, I will apply once fully back in the UK.

Just to clarify that entitlement to NHS services isn’t based on nationality, it’s about residence.

IIRC you actually don't necessarily need an address but you do need to be ordinarily resident to be entitled to free NHS care (and just having been born here/registered here before doesn't necessarily guarantee that). It may be that someone returning to the UK would need travel insurance to cover medical care until the rest of it's sorted out. The gov.uk website has information.

We just moved area, registered with local gp which only took one day, just wait till you're here like you say.

Nobody said it was.

But the residence/domicile/nationality/ILR situation is going to play into how complicated the paperwork is. It wasn’t even clear from the first post whether OP had lived here permanently before.

I seem to remember too, that no single one of those factors is a magic bullet for being granted free NHS treatment. It’s a nuanced judgement by an NHS official whether you qualify for free services. But I was trying not to hit OP with too much complication as she currently clearly doesn’t even know about catchment areas.

Wait till you're back full time and have an address and find the GP in your catchment. You can't go shopping for GPs. Dentists however, you can go anywhere. I'd probably start that first and get to waiting lists.

@VaccineSticker I’m a GP and I do home visits most days. But they’re reserved for people who are genuinely housebound - immobile, terminally ill, frail. Not for young people with tonsillitis etc. Sadly some people do still try and take the piss, doing things like asking for a home visit, but asking for the afternoon, because they’re going to the hairdresser in the morning!

You’d need to be normally resident to register so a 1-2 week stay won’t work. Private gps are more flexible. But if you are unwell during your stay you may be eligible with ghic card to be seen as a visitor,

GPs have an area they cover and will only accept registrations for patients living within their catchment area - they have the right to decline your application if you live outside of their area. If you are lucky their might be more than one surgery covering your area so you can choose between them but you can’t choose a GP in Kensington if you live in Greenwich