How to find a doctor in London
moove2london on 02 Sep 2010If you’ve recently moved to London, then one of the things you’ll need to do once you arrive and start settling in, is to register yourself with a doctor. Some of you might think you can’t be bothered to do this and you’ll just stay registered with your doctor in your home town. This isn’t a very good idea, because if you end up with an illness that is more serious than something you can clear up at the pharmacy, but not serious enough to be classified as an emergency that you would go to hospital for, then that just leaves you with the option an NHS walk-in centre. This can be inconvenient if you’re not in the mood to sit around for a couple of hours waiting to be seen.
So, we can’t stress enough how important it is to get registered at a local GP surgery.
The first thing you’ll need to do is visit the NHS website and use their Find a Doctor service. You can also use this page to find dentists, walk-in centres, hospitals,opticians and pharmacies.
On this page, you should enter your new London Postcode. This will return a list of GP practices in your local area and they will be listed by the closest to your home. The most important thing that you should look for on the summary listing of each surgery is whether it says Currently accepting new patients
You can then click and find out more information about the surgery including the following:
- Names of the doctors, including whether they’re partners, GPs and if they’re male or female, which is good for those patients who have a preference
- The services offered at the surgery, e.g antenatal clinic
- The opening times of the surgery
- Address and map for the surgery
- How to register as a new patient at the surgery
Choose the ones you’re interested in, then add them to a shortlist where you can compare the surgeries that you’ve selected.
Once you’ve chosen one you like the look of, contact them by phone or by dropping in to find out how to register.
It would be normal when registering as a new patient, to complete a patient registration form, provide proof of residence (something with your address on it, as doctors have catchment areas) and then be asked to undergo a medical examination which is often just a urine sample and checking your blood pressure.
If you need to make an appointment to see a doctor immediately, then mention this to the reception staff at the time of your registration.
Of course, if you are unwell, then you can always pop into one of London’s walk-in centres, visit your local hospital or call NHS Direct for advice on 0845 46 47.
The hospitals below have 24-hour walk-in Accident and Emergecy departments:
Charing Cross – Fulham Palace Road, W6 8RF.
Chelsea and Westminster – 369 Fulham Road, SW6 9NH.
Guy’s – St Thomas Street, SE1 9RT.
Homerton – Homerton Row, E9 6SR.
Royal Free – Pond Street, NW3 2QG.
Royal London – Whitechapel Road, E1 1BB.
St George’s – Blackshaw Road, SW17 0QT.
St Mary’s – Praed Street, W2 1NY.
St Thomas’s – Lambeth Palace Road, SE1 7EH.
University College – 235 Euston Square, NW1 2BU.
Whittington – St Mary’s Wing, Highgate Hill, N19 5NF.