You may be aware that arrangements introduced in January 2015 now give people greater choice when choosing a GP Practice. Patients may approach any GP practice, even if they live outside the practice area, to see if they will be accepted onto the patient list.
‘Out of Area’ registration (with or without home visits) is voluntary for GP Practices. Meaning patients may be refused because they live outside of the practice area. If your application is considered, the GP will only register you (without home visits) if it is clinically appropriate and practical in your individual case.
In Order to Assess this, we may:
- Ask you, or the GP Practice you are currently registered with, questions about your health to help decide whether to register you in this way.
- Ask you questions about why it is practical for you to attend this practice, eg. How many days per week you would normally be able to attend.
If accepted, you will attend the practice and receive the full range of services provided as normal at the surgery. You may on occasion develop an urgent illness or injury at home, which means attending the GP surgery as normal would not be appropriate and under these circumstances, please contact the surgery in the first instance.
If we determine you need access to services local to where you live, we may ask you to call NHS 111. NHS 111 will then direct you to the local service that has been established by NHS England for patients such as you. This local service could be a GP Practice near to where you live, the local walk-in or urgent care centre, A&E or Minor Injuries Unit.
This local service will then decide if you can attend for an urgent face to face appointment with a healthcare professional, or if a home visit is needed, which will be based on your individual circumstance.
You should be aware that we will provide (if requested) the GP or healthcare professional with basic patient details, in order that they can carry out the consultation safely and effectively. By registering as an ‘Out of Area’ registered patient, you are giving your consent to this information being provided.