New Patient Registration

Anyone in England can register with a GP surgery. It’s free to register.

You do not need proof of address or immigration status, ID or an NHS number.

You might be able to register with a GP surgery that’s not in the area you live. (See section below on Out of Area registration)

GP surgeries  can treat many conditions and give health advice. They can also refer you to other NHS services.

Registering with us

Complete the online registration form that is relevant to you. The registration forms are quick and easy and can be completed within 10 minutes.

You do not need proof of ID to register with a GP, but it might help of you have one or more of the following:

• passport
• birth certificate
• HC2 certificate
• rough sleepers’ identity badge
• hostel or accommodation registration or mail forwarding letter

If you’re homeless, you can give a temporary address, such as a friend’s address, a day centre or the GP surgery address.

Registering your new baby

You need to register your new baby at the practice as soon as possible. Please complete an online form or ask reception for a paper copy and send it back completed to the practice. Please ensure you provide your baby’s NHS Number which will be detailed in their Red Book. Once we have received the form we will register your baby as a patient at this Practice.

The Practice will send you an appointment for a 6-8 week baby check. Your baby’s course of routine immunisations will start at 8 weeks and needs to be booked after you attend the 6-8 week check. Please remember to bring the red book to all of your baby’s appointments. If you cannot make this appointment you must notify reception as soon as possible.

If you need help registering with us

If you need help registering or filling in forms, call the GP surgery and let them know.

You could also ask for help from:

• local organisations – for example if you’re homeless you could ask a centre that supports homeless people
• Citizens Advice
• your local Healthwatch

Refusing registration

You can be refused registration with us if:

• we are not taking any new patients
• you live outside the practice boundary and we are not accepting patients from out of area
• you have been removed from that practice register before
• it’s a long way from your home and you need extra care, for example home visits

Changing GP surgeries

You can change your GP surgery if you need to.

This might be because:

• you have moved
• you have had problems with your current practice
• you were removed from the patient list

You should tell us if you change address or move out of the area.

Out of Area Registration

You do not need to register with a GP surgery in the area you live.

You can register with a surgery that’s more convenient, for example closer to your work or your children’s school.

We can refuse registration for reasons such as we are not taking new patients or it’s too far away from your home and you need home visits.

Arcadian Gardens Surgery will decide, following a review of your completed registration form, whether to accept you as a regular patient or accept you without home visiting duties (if it is clinically appropriate and practical for you to be registered away from home).

Because of the greater distance to your home, Arcadian Gardens Surgery is under no obligation to offer you a home visit. If you are not well enough to go to the practice yourself, then other arrangements will be made. NHS England (the body responsible for buying GP services) ensures there is access to a service either near your home or at home (if needed).

Additionally, if you’re worried about an urgent medical concern, you can call the NHS 111 service to speak to a fully trained adviser. This service is available 24 hours a day.

Please speak to a receptionist or complete the online form if you wish to register as out of area. We will give you notification of our decision within 14 working days.

Temporary Resident

Using our practice if you are not registered with us is straight forward. You can contact any GP surgery if you need treatment and:

• you’re away from home
• you’re not registered with a GP surgery
• it’s a medical emergency

You might need to register as a temporary resident or permanent patient if you need treatment for more than 14 days.

You can register as a temporary resident for up to 3 months. You’ll still be registered with your usual GP surgery if you have one.

Arcadian Gardens Surgery is happy to see patients who are temporarily resident in the practice area should medical advice be required. In this instance persons wishing to be treated should state that they are a temporary resident when reporting to reception.

To register you will need to complete our Temporary Resident Registration form available online or ask reception for a paper copy and send it completed back to the practice.

Registering with a GP under the Mental Capacity Act

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) is designed to protect and empower people over 16 who are unable to make decisions about their care and treatment.

If a person is unable to register with a GP because they cannot make decisions about their care, registration can be done by:

• a relative
• the main carer
• a lasting power of attorney
• a person appointed by a court under the Mental Capacity Act

Named Accountable GP for All Patients

All patients registered at Arcadian Gardens Surgery have a named doctor who has overall responsibility for your care and support. If you choose to see another doctor at the surgery you are entirely free to go on doing so exactly as before.

Proxy Access

Proxy access was developed to allow someone other than the patient to access and manage parts of their GP online services account. The proxy is given their own online access account (rather than using the patient’s login details). It is often used by the parents or recognised carers of young children, and recognised carers of adults.

Access given to authorised care staff must be agreed between the:

• resident/patient and or their representative
• care home
• patient’s GP practice.

Access is generally given from the date of admission to the care home but longer, retrospective, proxy access can be given if the GP agrees this would be of benefit to the resident.

GP practices can set up their clinical systems to allow access to various elements of the GP records. This is agreed locally, meaning that care home staff can’t see anything that the GP practice does not allow. If, however, a resident does not want care home staff to have proxy access to any part of their record, including ordering medication, the care home must respect the wishes of their resident and continue to work with paper, etc.