Practice Area Policy

Our policy

We are having increasing numbers of queries about who can apply to join our List and who can remain on the List when they move house.  This policy is clarified as follows:

We have a well-documented practice area with a boundary.  It follows roads, rivers and footpaths. Anyone inside that line is deemed in our Area. That Area has reduced in recent years so that many existing patients are still registered although living outside the current boundary.

Anyone moving to a new address, including existing patients, that is outside the boundary unfortunately will be asked to register with a new doctor and will have one months’ notice to do so.  The only exception is a children. For the purpose of this policy “children” covers all dependants aged 18 and under, including but not limited to birth children, legally adopted children, and children placed in foster care. Having the same postal address is not sufficient grounds. 

This policy also applies to those moving to Nursing Homes out of our Area.  However, if the stay is temporary then we may still prescribe medication or give advice on the telephone for up to two weeks but we shall not be in a position to visit.  That would fall to the local GP.  These requests need to be discussed with the patient’s usual doctor.

Despite numerous pleas we have made no other exceptions to this rule in the last year due to the spiralling pressures on our service.  We have a larger Practice Area than most local surgeries and we have a rapidly accelerating List size which threatens to affect the quality of the service we provide.