NHS general practitioners

GPs or doctors look after the health of people in their local community and deal with a whole range of health problems. They also provide health education, offer advice on smoking and diet, run clinics, give vaccinations and carry out simple surgical operations.

GPs usually work with a team including nurses, health visitors and midwives, as well as a range of other health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. If a GP cannot deal with your problem themselves, they'll usually refer you to a hospital for tests, treatment or to see a consultant with specialist knowledge.

You can register with a GP surgery of your choice, as long as you live within its catchment area and its practice list is not formally closed to new patient registrations. Visits to the surgery are free.

It is important to be registered with a GP as they refer you for specialist hospital and community treatment services if needed. The services provided by each surgery can be found in the practice or surgery leaflet available at the surgery.

Contact your local primary care trust (PCT) if you are having problems registering with a nearby doctor. Your PCT will normally be able to help you find a GP.

You can register with a GP surgery of your choice, as long as you live within its catchment area and its practice list is not formally closed to new patient registrations. Applications must be made in writing and forms are available from GP surgeries. These are usually GMS1 forms (printed in purple), which primary care trusts (PCTs) order for their practices centrally, but some practices use their own version.

Parents or guardians can register a baby at a practice by completing and presenting form FP58, which is issued at the same time as a birth certificate.

When you register with a GP surgery, you may receive an NHS medical card. This is also known as form FP4, which provides basic details such as a patient's name, address, NHS number, registered GP practice (or the name of an individual practitioner) and details of the local PCT. NHS medical cards are not used everywhere. Some PCTs don't issue them at all, others do so only on request.

If you wish to see a GP and are visiting an area for more than 24 hours but less than three months, you can apply to register with a GP surgery as a temporary resident. The application can be made using form GMS3.

Yes. You can normally see any doctor within your surgery. This is quite normal, especially if you need an appointment quickly.

All doctors have an emergency service. This service is only for urgent medical problems that cannot wait until the next day to be treated.

Most surgeries have an answering-machine message to refer you to out-of-hours telephone numbers or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

Read our out-of-hours services section for more information.

Your doctor can give you travel inoculations. Some inoculations may be free under the NHS, though there may be a charge for others. Consult your doctor at least two months before you plan to travel for advice and to arrange any inoculations that you may need. This is because some inoculations take time to become effective. You can also get travel inoculations at specialist travel clinics.

For further health advice for travellers, read Access to healthcare abroad and Avoid infectious diseases.

Your GP practice will decide how quickly you need to be seen. There are no set rules on this. You should also be able to book further ahead in advance if this is more convenient for you.

Yes. A surgery may refuse your application to join its list of patients if, for example, you do not reside in its catchment area or it has formally closed its list of patients.

If a surgery does refuse to accept you, it must have reasonable grounds for doing so. These must not relate to race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or a medical condition. It must also give you reasons for its decision in writing.

Find out more about your rights.

If you register with a GP surgery, you may receive an NHS medical card, which exists for NHS administrative purposes and lists basic details such as a your name, address, NHS number, registered practice (or the name of an individual practitioner) and details of your local primary care trust (PCT).

When you register with a new surgery, the receptionist will give you a form to fill in (GMS1). When you have completed and returned the form, your local PCT will transfer your medical records to your new surgery and write to you to confirm your registration as a patient with the surgery.

NHS medical cards are not used everywhere. Some PCTs don't issue them at all, others do so only on request. 

If you disagree with the way your GP wants to treat your health problem, or you're unhappy about the service provided by your GP surgery, tell them openly. However, if you feel unable to do so or you're unhappy with the response you receive, you may wish to make a complaint.

All GP surgeries have a written complaints procedure. You will find this at the reception or on the practice website.

As a first step, speak to the practice manager. You can also complain to the practice in writing or by email.

If this doesn't resolve the problem, or you'd rather not raise the issue directly with the practice, you can complain to the local primary care trust (PCT). Get details of your local PCT by using our Find services option.

Read How to complain to find out more about the NHS complaints procedure.

You have the right to change your doctor without giving a reason. The process of finding a new doctor is similar to registering. It is helpful if you also notify the surgery that you are leaving.

You may need to find a new doctor for various reasons. For example, if:

• you have just moved into a new area,
• you have moved outside the catchment area of your current surgery,
• there is a problem with your relationship with your current doctor, or
• your current doctor has removed you from his or her list.

If you fall ill while away from home or if you are not registered with a doctor but you need to see one, you can still contact your nearest surgery to ask for treatment.

You can receive emergency treatment for 14 days. After that you will have to register as a temporary or permanent patient.

Temporary registration allows you to be taken onto the doctor's list for a three-month period. If you have a doctor but are away from your home area, you can register temporarily with a doctor near where you are currently staying and still remain a patient of your permanent doctor.

Try to have the following information available when you see a doctor for the first time:

• Details of your on-going medical problems.
• Details of medical problems you have suffered in the past.
• The name of any medicines that you are currently taking.
• Details of anything you are allergic to. 
• Contact details of your regular or previous doctor.

You can also visit one of the new GP-led health centres to see a GP. These are open from 8am to 8pm, every day of the year. You don't need to be registered and you don't need an appointment. Any member of the public can simply walk in to see a GP at any one of these centres, regardless of where they are registered. Alternatively, patients can pre-book an appointment if they prefer.

Treatment Abroad

It's not always easy to get treatment abroad, so plan ahead. Ensure you have adequate private health insurance.

A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment while you're in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland. However, you should still take out private health insurance as an EHIC will not necessarily cover all the costs of your treatment and never covers the cost of repatriation.

The EHIC has replaced the old E111, which is no longer valid.

For more information visit the Access to healthcare abroad section.