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Since January 5 2015, all GP practices in England have been free to register new patients who live outside their practice boundary area.
This means you can register with a GP practice somewhere that's more convenient for you, such as a practice near your work or closer to your children’s schools. This will give you greater choice and aims to improve the quality of access to GP services. Use the Services near you facility to find out what people say about a GP practice.
These arrangements are voluntary for GP practices. If the practice has no capacity at the time, or feels it is not clinically appropriate or practical for you to be registered so far away from home, they can still refuse registration. The practice should explain to you their reason for refusing your registration.
You may wish to join a GP near work or re-register with your old GP following a move. The new arrangements make this possible; however, there are a few things to consider:
The practice 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, the GP you register with 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 that there is access to a service either near your home or at home (if needed). When you register with a practice further away from home, you will be given information about what you should do in those circumstances.
However, if you are too ill to go to the practice in person, or the practice is unable to help you over the phone, call NHS 111. The NHS 111 service can tell you about access to local services or, where necessary, arrange a home visit.
Registering with a practice further away from home can affect decisions about referrals for hospital tests and treatment, or access to community health services. Speak to the GP about your options.
In 2012, all GP practices were asked to agree an outer practice boundary. Outer practice boundaries are an expansion of a GP's original catchment area. Whereas in the past you may have had to register with a new GP even after only moving a few streets away, these outer boundaries can be a way to stay registered with your old GP.
You’ll still have to speak with your GP first and, if appropriate, the GP may keep you on the register. For example, a GP may refuse to keep you on the register if you need frequent home visits but don’t live close to the GP practice. If the GP covers a large area and the travel distance to your home is too long to justify regular home visits, then the GP can suggest that you register with a practice closer to your home.
However, if the GP decides you can stay registered, then you will continue to receive the full range of services, including clinically necessary home visits.
If you have epilepsy and take epilepsy medicines, you are entitled to a medical exemption certificate. This allows you to get all your prescription medicines for free, not just your epilepsy medicines. But it does not cover dental charges. You will also get free prescriptions if you’re on certain benefits.
To claim free prescriptions, ask your GP or hospital doctor for application form FP92A. This is the application form for a medical exemption certificate. Once you have filled in the form, the hospital doctor, GP or a member of staff at your GP surgery will sign to confirm that the information you have given is correct. They will then send for an exemption certificate for you.
Medical exemption certificates last 5 years. It is your responsibility to renew your certificate, so keep an eye on the expiry date. The NHS should send you a reminder one month before the expiry date, but don’t rely on this. To renew your certificate, ask your doctor to submit another FP92A form. If you don’t renew your certificate and continue to use it to get free prescriptions, you could be fined up to £100.
You will have to pay for your prescriptions until you have your exemption certificate, but you can claim the money back. To do this, ask the pharmacist for an FP57 receipt and refund claim form when you pay for the prescription. When you receive your exemption certificate the start date will be one month before you applied for it. You will be able to claim the money back for any prescriptions you paid for after the start date. There is information on form FP57 that tells you how to claim the money back.
If you need to get an English prescription dispensed from a pharmacy in Wales or Scotland, you can use your medical exemption certificate to get it for free. All UK prescriptions are dispensed free of charge in Northern Ireland.
The value must be greater than or equal to 1.
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