New Patient Registration

Patients who live outside of the practice catchment area can register with us.

A doctor will look at your application and decide if it's appropriate for you to register. This decision will depend on your location and health needs. We may contact you for more information to help us decide.

We will let you know if we accept or reject your application.

What can out of area patients expect from the practice?

Out of area patients can access all the services provided at Frome Medical Practice. The one exception is that we may not be able to offer home visits.

Additionally, If you need access to community services we may refer you to teams where you live.

Please enter your postcode into the interactive map below. If you fall outside of the boundary area, you won’t be entitled to some of our services such as home visits.

You register as a temporary patient with the practice if you are staying nearby and are ill while away from home. You can also temporarily register if you are not registered with a doctor but urgently need to see one.

If you are already registered at another nearby practice, you cannot register with us.

You can be registered as a temporary patient for up to three months. This allows you to access our services but stay a patient of your registered GP practice. After three months you will have to re-register as a temporary patient. You can also register as a full-time patient with us.

We do not have to accept you as a temporary patient. We do have to offer you immediately necessary and or urgent treatment.

What can temporary patients expect from the practice?

There is no funding for temporary patients. Seeing them reduces the services we can to offer our registered patients. For this reason we only see temporary patients when immediately necessary and urgent.

This means some of our services are not available to temporary patients. For example, referrals, warfarin checks, and repeat medicines. 

Immediately necessary treatment is treatment that:

• is needed to save a life,

• is needed to stop a health problem from becoming life-threatening, or

• is needed to stop permanent damage from occurring.

Urgent treatment is treatment that:

• cannot wait until the person can be reasonably expected to return home.

Please do not try to register as a temporary patient to get medicines. We cannot give repeat prescriptions to temporary patients.

Contact your registered practice if you do not have enough of your medicine. Your registered practice will be able to send your prescription to a pharmacy of your choice. Please do this as soon as possible so that it doesn't become urgent. If you let your doctor know of your holiday before you go they can arrange for enough medicines in advance.

If you urgently need your medicine a local pharmacy may be able to offer an emergency supply. You will need proof of the medicine normally prescribed to you. Emergency supply is a private service, and you will have to pay for the medicine supplied.

You can also use NHS 111 to request an emergency supply of medicine you have completely run out of.

At Frome Medical Practice, we aim for continuity of care - where you see the same doctor for as many of your appointments as possible.

All patients are assigned a named accountable GP who oversees your care. This is also known as your continuity GP. You’ll be allocated a named GP when you register, and existing patients are also assigned one.

Patients aged 75 and over are also assigned a named accountable GP, who ensures access to appropriate health checks and coordinated care.

We will book you in with your named GP whenever possible. For urgent appointments, you may need to see a different doctor.

Seeing the same GP helps build a trusted relationship and means your doctor understands your history - so you don’t have to repeat your story each time. While it may mean waiting a little longer, research shows this leads to better, safer care.

Who is my GP?

To find out who your current named GP is contact the practice.

You have the right to express a preference for which GP you’d like to be your named doctor. We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate your request. Contact us to let us know your preference.