To think someone shouldn’t be registered with a doctor half an hour from where they live

[User6007000]

A friend of mine is registered at the same gp as me and she lives half an hour a way from the gp. Aibu to think this shouldn’t be allowed? Where she lives is still the same health care trust. She said there is a law which allowed her to do this? I have always thought gp’s have catchment areas

We have to pay for GP care. Dd and DH both have a GP in a local practice, as that is most likely where they will be able to see them when needed.

I, however, have a GP near where I work. As I need to go there every 6 months for ongoing monitoring of a long term problem, and most acute issues come on slowly enough to get there too. If something is quite urgent, it’s usually more serious anyway and I go to the local urgent care Centre or A&E (depending on need).

It works well for us. I can’t get to a GP near home normally unless I take a couple of hours off work, but can get to mine early mornings or at lunch around work. Or quickly fit it into my working day (E.g. I need a more urgent appointment for a chest infection - which I am prone to), grab the meds at the pharmacy down the same street And be back at work with about 30 minutes (or sent home to rest and recover for a few days).

If dd needs GP, I’d be taking time off work anyway to look after her.

People can register for a gp wherever they like, which means that for every person coming to one gp's surgery from out of area, there may well be other people living near that gp's surgery who go elsewhere (e.g. because they are registered at one near their work). So it's swings and roundabouts really.

My GP is a half hour walk away. It used to be a 15 minute walk away. The surgery relocated and the old surgery building was sold. It also serves the outlying villages around our small market town.

I do find the 'I never need the doctor anyway' logic a bit strange. No one needs the doctor until the day they take ill. Just because you haven't been ill in the past doesn't mean you can't be ill in the future. My brother hadn't visited a doctor in 30 years and then he had a sudden and life changing illness and now he's a regular.

I can't get worked up about where anyone else is registered with a GP, it's between them and the doctor really.

I moved but stayed registered with my gp half an hour away. I checked with the doctor first if this was ok as he's been amazing with my sons health problems. We just can't have home visits. No one else's concern really.

You NC'd to make this world shattering point?

Which is absolutely none of your business.

Most GPs in my area will not accept you if you live too far away. I moved back here two years ago and tried to re-register with my old practice they flat out said no. My parents and brother (who also live out of area) are there but that was a historic agreement they had. Even the one that is closest to us didn’t want to accept us at first as our postcode is different to their catchment area postcode until they saw how close we lived.

Conversely, when I lived in other areas in the SE, they were trying to get me to register with practices miles away as the local town ones were so full. In fact, one town had no practices taking on new patients at all and I had to get the local CCG involved so that I could register.

I can virtually see my nearest GP surgery from my house, however I remain registered with the practice I've been attending for 32 years. There would be no benefit to me transferring as they are as busy as each other. My practice has seen me through 3 pregnancies, 2 cancer scares and I have 2 ongoing medical conditions, why would I want to transfer? As pointed out, the NHS offers patient choice - I had a choice of 3 hospitals last year for an operation, but I made a choice on what I considered best for me and my family who were supporting me. I'd rather choice than being told where I should be cared for.

I assume she pays taxes too? You don’t get dibs on healthcare because you live in a particular place.

I can’t imagine giving a shit to be honest

I have lots of choice of GPs but if I moved 30 mins away, I'd do everything I can to keep the same one. It is a lottery. My GP also has a good amount of female leadership which filters down to the male drs who join. I find then far less dismissive of "women's problems" and more in tune with the "between the lines" issues we face as busy mothers with demanding careers. The way some of my friends and family have been dismissed by doctors by normalising treatable conditions that may or may not be part of the normal aging process for women is unbelievable.

I assume she pays taxes too? You don’t get dibs on healthcare because you live in a particular place

^^ This.

It's none of your business OP.

But I'm chuckling to myself at the 'GPs rarely do home visits' our practice regularly does between 7-10 visits a day for housebound patients. It really isn't rare.

This is a really weird post. Why on earth would this bother you?!

It doesn’t matter so long as it’s all in the same area but it can be a massive pain in the hole trying to co-ordinate secondary care/social services/equipment etc for patients when they live in one area and have their gp in another. It’s doable but it slows things down so I wouldn’t recommend it for that reason.

It’s in a different town some county council

Oh FFS just accept that you are being ridiculous and get a grip.

Oh! Well that changes everything op... 🙄

NHS changed the guidelines a couple of years ago.
A patient can be asked to register at a practice of their choice. If the patient is not in the catchment are for that GP the practice has a right to decline or accept the patient but WITHOUT home visits.

Generally, the practice will have its own internal policy. E.g. If the patient has complex medical needs and will likely need a home visit our practice will decline them so they hget continuity of care whether they attend the practice or have a home visit.

However, if it is someone without complex needs who is unlikely to need a home visit and they have no children who have links to health visitors/services in other areas we may accept them.

Practices are funded by the number of patients. It's not a lot per year but numbers of healthier people support the extra work provided to those with chronic disease who require greater support.

If you can't get an appointment this is down to the practice management, not your friend registering there!

OP you said "different town same county council" ... well, hello. County councils tend to control social care but not the NHS, so they have nothing to do with GP surgeries. That is done by the NHS Trust which may work with hospital Trusts and GP partnerships or whatever and in enlightened areas with the social services as well. As you said in your op it's the same health care trust.

So your "friend" is not abusing any services. The GP partnership will have decided whether to keep her on their books, which they have done - either because she is a complex patient who needs their understanding of her problems, or because she hardly uses them at all. As PP have said, if it wasn't her, there would be another patient on the books who might need gasp double appointments for complex treatment.

i dont get your point if the surergery have allowed her to go there then its of no consequence to you-if she didnt use up an appt someone else would register and use it

I believe her being there affects appointment availability.

Seriously? You can't possibly be so stupid as to believe this. You describe this woman as your friend. It doesn't sound as though you like her much.

If she lives in the same Health Trust then it makes no difference.

Why does it matter? What impact does it have on you? She’s your mate, surely as long as it works for her then that’s all that matters?

You're not really her friend are you..

Not agreeing with someone’s choice doesn’t mean I’m not a good friend