HOW DO I....
REGISTER WITH THE PRACTICE?

The practice list is open at present and this means that patients can request the appropriate forms directly from the reception staff, or, preferably, they can present their NHS cards. These need to be completed and are passed to the doctor to sign. You will also be asked to fill in a health questionnaire so that our records can be accurate and you will be offered an appointment for a new patient medical. If the practice list is full (this means we have reached the maximum number of patients on our list for whom we can offer a good standard of medical care) you will be given a letter explaining this, and the reception staff can offer you advice on what you should do next. This will include approaching two other practices and then, if neither of them has an open list, applying to be assigned to the list of a doctor in the area. Assignments are made on a rotational basis between all the practices in a given locality and you will not be able to choose which practice you are assigned to.

The practice does not discriminate in the registering of new patients and accepts patients from anywhere within the practice boundary. There is no discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, medical condition or disability. Refusal to accept patients can only be made on reasonable grounds such as list closure, patient living outside the practice boundary, or presently registered with another local doctor.

REGISTERED DOCTOR

The GMS contract moves away from a named registered doctor and patients are now registered with the practice. However, there is a facility to indicate "usual doctor seen" and we can enter that on the computer. Patients registering will be asked to indicate their preference and this will be entered from the outset. The practice will endeavour to comply with such a request although some doctors may be more difficult to make an appointment with than others.