The following information is applicable to patients living in England, and being treated by NHS England. No information provided should be taken as formal legal or medical advice.

Registering with the right GP practice is essential for receiving the best healthcare and accessing other NHS services. The level of care offered by GP practices can vary widely, as well as factors such as appointment availability and the ability to choose your preferred doctor.

What GPs do

GPs (short for General Practitioner or GP surgery/practice) is often used to refer to both the medical doctor and the GP surgery. GP surgeries are usually independent organisations, who provide primary healthcare services for the NHS.

GPs are typically the first point of contact for seeking non-emergency medical care. They offer a wide range of services, including preventive care, chronic disease management, and acute medical care. They also offer advice and guidance on lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and stress management. 

GPs play a vital role in providing access to other NHS services and are an important part of the community.

When to look for a new GP

There are many reasons why you may want to switch GPs, including moving to a new area or being unhappy with the care provided by your current GP. You may change GPs for any reason.

How to find the right GP

It is important to find a GP that meets your specific needs. The NHS conducts annual patient surveys of patients across more than six thousand GP practices to assess patient experiences, as well as other important metrics, such as how easy it is to book an appointment or whether you get the choice of which doctor you see. 

Furthermore, the Care Quality Commission regularly assesses the quality of care offered. They provide a rating of outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate across six main categories (overall, safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).

Therefore, patient satisfaction scores and CQC care quality ratings can be useful ways of assessing GP practices. In addition, you may consider whether GP practices offer additional services, such as extended opening hours (e.g. evenings or weekends) and online consultations.

Word of mouth is also a great way to find a good GP practice. However, depending on your social networks and the GP practices available, you may miss out. 

NHS England provides a database of GP practices, showing factual data on location and whether practices are accepting patients, but little beyond that. That is why at HealthSay, we have developed a tool to help you find and compare NHS GP practices (in England) near you. Our tool incorporates information on patient experience, CQC care quality, patient-to-doctor ratios and location.

Please note that depending on how many patients a GP practice already has, they may not be accepting new patients, or they may restrict new patients to those living nearby.

How to switch GPs

If you decide to switch to a new GP practice, start by checking the GP practice's website for information on accepting new patients and how to register.

Normally, registration will involve filling out a quick form online or in person. The GP practice will then confirm your registration, and you will no longer be registered at your previous GP. You may then be asked to visit the GP practice to provide some form of identification.

It is important to note that your medical records may not automatically transfer, so you'll need to give permission for your new GP to request them to ensure continuity of care.