GP Services
- providing medical reports or certificates additional to those required by the NHS (however GP cannot charge for signing sick notes)
- carrying out routine medical examinations at the request of a commercial, educational or non-for-profit organisation in order to create a medical report or certificate
- creating a medical report required in connection with any claim (or potential claim) for compensation for harm to the patient
- prescribing or providing drugs, medication or appliances (including the contents of a travel kit) for anyone travelling abroad for any condition for which the patient does not currently require treatment
Can I change my GP?
You are entitled to change your GP at any time and do not have to give a reason. Within the same practice you will need to speak to the practice receptionist. To change to a difference practice you will need to tell your local Health Authority who will give you further information about how to change.
When you have found another doctor willing to accept you as a patient you will need to given them your medical card for registration at the practice. If you do not have a medical card you can speak to the practice staff who will explain how to register.
If you want to change to a GP further away from your home you may find that a practice refuses to accept you as a new patient if they are already very full. A practice does not have to accept you if you are not a local resident.
If you need to change doctors because you have been removed from a doctor’s register the procedure is very similar. If you are unable to find a GP who will accept you, your local health authority will allocate you a GP.
If you move away from your practice you do not necessarily have to change if your old practice is still convenient for you. However, if your GP decides that treatment or home visits are not possible you will need to change to a nearer practice.
How to find an NHS GP
To find an NHS GP in your area visit www.nhs.uk to search their search facility. This allows you to specify a postcode of location and lists all NHS GPs in the area.
I have been removed from my GP's register - what can I do?
You can be removed from a practice’s list if you have moved house and are now outside of the practice area. You may also be removed if your relationship with your GP has broken down or if you are physically or verbally abusive to staff or other patients.
In most situations your GP must given you a warning and provide you with reasons for your removal. However if you have been, or threatened to be violent you can be removed immediately once the policy have been informed.
Your GP must inform your Primary Care Trust who will then inform you and you will be removed from the register on the eighth day after the PCT has received notification from your GP. Following removal the GP is only required to provide emergency treatment if it is deemed clinically necessary and you are entitled to the continuation of treatment occurring more than once a week until you are accepted by a new GP.
Once you have been removed you can approach another practice to see if they will accept you as a patient. This process is the same as changing doctor for any other reason. If you are unable to find a practice that will accept you, your local health authority will allocate you a GP.
You should never be removed from a practice list because of your age, your illness or any demands placed upon the NHS. You are also entitled to refuse to participate in locally or nationally agreed screening or immunisation programmes, question clinical techniques or safety measures within the practice and make both an informal or formal complaints. None of these reasons are justification for removal.
However, you may find following a formal complaint about your GP that your relationship with your GP is insufficient to continue effective doctor-patient communication and so a practice may suggest you transfer to a different doctor.
If you are unhappy about why you have been removed, feel the practice has not followed the correct procedure, or believe you may have been discriminate against for any reason you are entitled contact the practice manager of the practice and ask for more information. If you are still not satisfied you may complain to the practice manager or local PCT.
NHS GP charges
Generally all standard GP services are provided free of charge. However practices are entitled to charge for some services, often those not covered by the NHS including:
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