Registering with and seeing your GP

Register with a GP surgery

GP registration is free. You can usually apply online or ask the surgery for a form and help completing it. You do not need ID, an NHS number, proof of address or proof of immigration status to register. People without a fixed address can use a temporary address or the surgery’s address. A practice may have other lawful reasons to refuse, such as a closed list or being outside its area. Ask for the written reason and help finding a suitable practice.

Ask for an accessible way to book

Contact the practice by phone, in person or using its available online route. Explain if forms, telephone queues, recorded messages or apps are difficult. Ask for an adjustment, such as support completing a request or an agreed contact method. Staff may ask what is wrong so they can direct you to the right clinician and assess urgency. You can explain privacy concerns and ask how to give sensitive information discreetly.

Plan the appointment around your needs

Tell staff what helps before the visit: longer appointments, a quieter waiting place, accessible information, an interpreter, wheelchair access or a familiar supporter. Ask them to record agreed adjustments and check that clinicians will see them. A telephone or video appointment is not suitable for everyone or every problem; explain why you need another format. Staff should speak directly to you and give time for your own answers.

Check the learning disability register

Ask whether your GP record correctly identifies your learning disability. The GP learning disability register helps practices plan relevant care; it is not the same as the Dynamic Support Register or acceptance by a specialist community team. If your needs have not been recognised, explain them and ask the GP to consider the available information. Support with ordinary appointments should not depend on waiting for a specialist team to accept you.

Ask about the annual health check

People aged 14 or over on the GP learning disability register can have a free annual health check. Most practices offer them; if yours does not, ask the practice or community learning disability team how to access one elsewhere. The check is a planned review of health, medicines and support needs, usually followed by a health action plan. You do not need to be ill. Do not save up new or urgent symptoms until the annual appointment.

Prepare the main things you want to discuss

Write, draw or record your main concern and questions. Say when a symptom began, what is different from usual and what makes it better or worse. Bring relevant medicines information and a communication passport if useful. A supporter can help describe changes, with your agreement, but should not replace your voice. Tell the clinician about pain, constipation, eating, sleep or mental health concerns rather than assuming they are simply part of learning disability.

Understand examinations and treatment choices

Ask what an examination, test or medicine is for and what the alternatives are. Ask staff to explain before touching you and tell them what helps you feel safe. You can request a chaperone for an intimate examination and discuss any other support needed. Check how to take medicines and what to do about side effects. The clinician should support your decision-making; relatives do not automatically decide for an adult.

Follow up tests and referrals

Before leaving, ask how and when results will be explained and whom to contact if you hear nothing. Ask whether a specialist referral is needed, who will make it and how you will know it has arrived. Being on the learning disability register or having an annual check does not automatically create every specialist referral. Ask for the next steps in your preferred format. Keep a note of promised actions and follow up missing appointments.

Help from another person and privacy

You may want someone to help book appointments, attend or understand letters. Ask the surgery how to record your permission and any limits. For online help, ask about authorised proxy access rather than sharing passwords. A carer’s relationship alone does not give access to all records or permission to make treatment decisions. You can ask to speak privately and change who is involved, subject to the relevant legal safeguards.

If you cannot get the help you need

Explain the specific barrier to the practice manager and request a practical solution. You can use the practice’s complaints process or ask the local integrated care board about the appropriate NHS complaint route. For an urgent medical problem, contact the surgery or NHS 111 as appropriate; call 999 for a life-threatening emergency. See the urgent health guide for more detail. A complaint or routine appointment request should not delay urgent care.

Seeing your doctor

What you can do next

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