Do you have a right to choose your GPp surgery?

[worriedsick100]

A friend has the most appalling doctor's surgery. Total lack of action over several (quite serious) ailments and often has to wait 2 weeks for routine appointments. They admit they are hopelessly over-registered. Does she have a right to switch surgeries to one that is further away (there is only one within 1.5 miles from her home) or can they refuse her? I can find material which says:

"“You have the right to choose your GP practice, and to be accepted by that practice unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse, in which case you will be informed of those reasons.”

You can choose which GP surgery you'd like to register with. That GP surgery must accept you unless there are good reasons for not doing so, for example, you live outside the boundaries that it has agreed with the locla commissioner (NHS England), or because it has no spaces left. Whatever the reason, the surgery must tell you why. If you can't register with your preferred GP surgery, the NHS will help you find another one.
Find GPs near you,
Find out how to choose a GP that is right for you"

which I think effectively means she may not be able to move. Thanks.

You can register at any practice you live in the boundaries of unless:

1. Your address is only covered by one practice - most likely if you are rural
2. Your chosen GP practice is already over subscribed.

It is worth asking at the other practice as 1.5 miles is likely not too far away. Lots of people change practice all the time.

A lot of them have a catchment area, like schools. She needs to call them, tell them where she lives, and ask them if they are accepting new patients. If she's too far away they won't allow her to register. If they do, all she needs to do is fill in a form and give them her NHS number, this can be found on any letters from the hospital they she has. She can change GP's but only if there's space and she's in the area.

Hope this helps.

So I need to call individual surgeries to ask then as first step? right? Thanks.

Yes. Just tell them where you live and that you'd like to change doctors. It takes about 12 weeks for your notes to transfer over though, just to warn you.

I changed in October to a surgery in the same building as the old one. The old one forgot to tell me I was severely anaemic and needed a blood transfusion twice. I figured if they were crap with this, that wasn't a good sign.