GP refusing to register student DD

[winteralready25]

My DD has just moved to Scotland for university. Not living in the catchment area for the university GP, and local GP practice refusing to register her till she's lived there for 3 months.

But the NHS website says she should be registered as long as she intends to live in the area for more than 3 months.

Any advice on how to get the practice - or any local practice - to take her on? She is on regular medication and will need her prescription renewed.

I'm not in the UK, so don't know what to advise her.

is she British with a British passport? Has she rung the NHS number about registering for a gp etc? That would be first thing to do

Some universities have surgeries on-site. Have you contacted them?

This is a guide to registering in Scotland and says what to do if having issues.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/nhs-services/doctors/registering-with-a-gp-practice/

Just order the repeat prescription at her usual GP via NHS app and you can post them to her. Or she can ask the GP for a terms worth of meds u til Christmas.

You don't even need to be British. Everyone is entitled to free primary care in Scotland.

There is often a knack to registering. Some only take new patients on specific days and you have to live in the catchment. Get her to ask on local student social media. Is she on a visa?

Search up some other local GPs, there's bound to be more than one, so get her to check first she lives in the catchment area and I'm sure she'll be fine.

Student services at her university will have the information on how to do this - there is probably a booklet for students from outside the area with a list of surgeries they can register at, and how to go about it. This is the type of issue that SS at a university can help with.

I'm not in the UK, so don't know what to advise her.

This is key information OP. Is your DD British and is she entitled to NHS care? If she is an overseas student who has only just moved to the UK she won't be able to access the NHS, she will need private medical insurance and to access private healthcare.

Thanks everyone, DD is Irish, so has reciprocal rights to NHS care on same basis as a UK citizen.

She told the surgery this, but was told they wouldn't register anyone who couldn't prove 3 months residence in the catchment area, though the NHS website refers to people intending to reside in the catchment area for more than 3 months.

I'll get her to talk to student services, they will hopefully be able to advise her on how to approach the surgery to get her on. She will need blood tests in the next couple of months and doesn't want to have to come home.

My understanding is that if you need a visa to study in the UK you can access NHS services as you pay an extra healthcare fee as part of your visa.
It may be more difficult if you don’t need a visa to study but also don’t have a UK GP, a student on a UK passport who lives overseas for example.
She should talk to student services at the University, they will have specific international support if needed.

That is not necessarily true. There is a NHS fee as part of a student visa which allows access to the system, including in Scotland free prescriptions and eye tests. If moving to UK as a British passport holder there may be a 3 month delay to be treated as normally resident although that may get overlooked in practice for healthcare.