Temporary Residents - Accessing primary health care (October 2020)

In light of the Covid19 pandemic, all GP Practices across the country have had to make significant temporary changes to the way they deliver services in order to limit exposure for both patients and staff and help minimise the potential spread of the disease. Other considerations have been reduced staffing capacity, due to self-isolation, shielding and childcare commitments. The health and wellbeing of all our patients and staff is paramount and these temporary changes have been implemented to help ensure we can continue to provide our much needed services and a safe environment for all.

These changes will likely have a continued impact after COVID with the use of technology, triage, video calls and electronic prescribing.

For this reason, temporary patients are encouraged in the first instance to contact their own Practices for advice and prescriptions as many can be sorted without the need for a face to face consultation. Electronic prescribing also enables doctors to nominate any pharmacy within the UK local to you at that time for ease of collection of your prescription.

If your Practice advises that a face to face appointment is required, please advise us of this when you telephone. We will contact your Practice to verify this request and ask them to confirm this in writing by email to us. We will also request a patient summary that will include any relevant medical history and list any current medications you may be taking. The patient will need to provide us with their Practice contact details and telephone number.

When we have verified the request, we will then contact the patient and they will be registered as a temporary patient on a short stay registration. We will take the details of the problem and a request will be passed through to the duty doctor team for consideration of the most appropriate course of action. The patient will then be telephoned and further advised.

Thank you for your understanding and patient during these uncertain and challenging times.