It's easy!

When you’re starting university in a different city (or a country!), there is a lot of admin that you need to think about – from the simplest things like where to do your shopping, finding the best café with a good internet connection or how to get to your lectures in the quickest way possible when you’re running late in the morning. But there are also less obvious things to think of that are as important, if not more.

One of those things might be registering with a local GP. This is something that you are less likely to think of right from the start, especially if you don’t have to manage any chronic conditions, but you may find yourself in a need to get quick professional, medical advice and by that time figuring out how and where to do it is the last thing you should worry about.

First of all, to understand the benefits of registering and the importance of doing so, have a look at this NHS website.

The website will give you a quick overview of GP registration and which vaccinations you should get when coming to uni for the first time, e.g. MenACWY vaccine which helps to protect you from meningitis.

It is also a condition of residence that you register with a local GP. Once you have done it, please update your online induction, which includes a medical registration form.

The NHS website has a search option to locate the nearest GP to your University of London accommodation, please follow the link:

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp

In this article we provide some local GP practices located in very close proximity to our halls. If you’d like more options, please refer to the above National Health Service (NHS) link.

What your local NHS GP can do for you - and how to access the UK NHS

This talk was recorded live on Thursday 29 September 2022. It covered how to register with a GP, why it's important to register, what GPs can help with, and vaccinations including measles, mumps and rubella, meningitis, HPV, and coronavirus. With many thanks to Dr Frances Baawuah & Dr Jessica Harland at Gower Street Practice.

Local GPs

Over the years we developed relationships with some of the local surgeries that accept our residents. They are within walking distance from the halls and some of them even come over during the first couple of weeks to do the registration on-site so look out for the info about that around your hall.

Nutford House

• Crawford Street 95-97 Crawford Street London W1H 2HJ 02077236324
  Register online at Crawford Street Surgery

Bonham Carter House, College Hall, Connaught Hall, International Hall, Handel Mansions and Garden Halls

• Ridgmount Practice – Ridgmount Street WC1E 7AA - 020 7387 6306
  Register online at Ridgmount Practice
• Gower Street Practice - 20 Gower Street London WC1E 6DP - 020 7467 6800
  Register online at Gower Street Practice
  
• The Bloomsbury Surgery (very convenient for Garden Halls, Handel Mansions, and International Hall) - 1 Handel Street WC1N 1PD - 020 7837 8559
  Register online at The Bloomsbury Surgery
  The Bloomsbury Surgery on Instagram
  

Eleanor Rosa House

• Carpenters Practice 236-252 High Street Stratford E15 2JA 020 8534 8057

Some Colleges also operate their own health service. The details are below. You may choose to use them, but remember, when you’re ill you might not want to travel to your campus to get treatment.

• King's: King's College London Health Centre; 02078482613
• LSE: St Philip's Medical Centre; 020 7955 7016
  
• UCL: Ridgmount Practice; 020 7387 6306
  

If you would like an online GP

In this day and age, there are a lot of services that are available from the comfort of your room. The last few years have proven that beings somewhere physically should not be a condition of getting what you need. If you’re happy to have a consultation online (video call or phone consultation) you may choose to register with GP at Hand. It’s a fully online service that you can manage via an app. But don’t worry, if you do need to see someone in person, you will be referred for a face-to-face appointment.

Please note, that a lot of GP practices offer online and telephone consultations too so please check their websites.

Let us know about your registration

If you are yet to complete your online induction or would like to update the medical registration section with new GP details or Next of Kin, please follow the link to the Accommodation Portal.

You might ask yourself what could happen if you do not register with a local doctor during their stay in London… Very often you will encounter problems and delays down the line in obtaining treatment, e.g. if you need to see a specialist, you have to go first through your GP. And as we said above, it’s best to register when you feel healthy so that you can get an appointment straight away when you’re under the weather.

Emergencies

In a life-threatening emergency situation, you must call 999 and you will get an immediate response. Please remember this is for life-threatening situations; if you require urgent help with a medical problem which is not life-threatening you can call 111 – this service is referred to as NHS 111 and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.