By October 2024, all General Practitioner (GP) surgeries in the UK must offer their patients the national ‘Register with a GP surgery’ service. When patients register with you as their local GP, they will have immediate access to your available healthcare services which is crucial in maintaining long-term health and well-being. The process is straightforward and free of charge and ensures that everyone in the community has a designated GP responsible for their ongoing healthcare needs. The service is just as beneficial for GPs and other healthcare workers, so let’s explore the advantages of encouraging and implementing the NHS’s ‘Register with a GP surgery’ service.
Why is the ‘register with a GP surgery’ service beneficial for UK surgeries?
The NHS designed the ‘Register with a GP Surgery’ service to be highly beneficial for UK GP surgeries, aiming to enhance patient retention and care by ensuring continuity and easy access to comprehensive healthcare services. It allows for better patient management through a registered patient list, making it easier to monitor health outcomes, implement preventive health measures and maintain high standards of care. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits it can bring to patients and your GP practice.
7 benefits of the NHS’ new GP surgery registration service
The NHS’ new GP surgery registration service represents a significant advancement in healthcare accessibility and efficiency. Here are a few benefits of this new service for GP surgeries in the UK:
- Enhanced security and compliance: the service complies with UK government and NHS regulations, including privacy, security and accessibility standards. It automatically flags safeguarding concerns and issues, ensuring patients and GP practices feel secure using it. This high level of compliance and security builds trust and ensures that sensitive patient information is handled effectively and appropriately.
- Streamlined registration process: by efficiently collecting and matching patient information to health records, the service significantly reduces administrative workload. It boasts a 93% success rate in NHS number matching, integrates with third-party suppliers and supports the registration of multiple family members, reducing Primary Care Support England (PCSE) exceptions by 60%.
- Efficient resource management: the simplified registration process helps GP practices plan staffing, appointment scheduling and resource allocation more effectively, ensuring they can meet patient needs promptly while maintaining high standards of care.
- Complete control over registrations: GP practices maintain full control over patient registrations, allowing them to accept or reject applications, manage out-of-catchment patients and pause the service when necessary. This flexibility helps uphold high standards of patient care.
- High satisfaction rates: the service features a consistent and user-friendly paper and online registration form, accommodating patient-specific access and language needs. It integrates seamlessly with other NHS services and has received positive feedback, with 95% of patients reporting a satisfactory experience.
- Comprehensive support for administrative staff: there’s extensive support provided for administrative staff, including demonstrations, assistance with bulk enrolments, help transitioning from other registration systems and promotional materials to educate patients about the service.
- Cost-free implementation: the service is fully funded by NHS England and is provided at no charge to GP practices. It is managed and maintained by a dedicated team of digital professionals and clinical experts, ensuring it remains current and effective.
The service is a testament to the ongoing efforts to improve healthcare delivery in the UK. It not only enhances opportunities for patient care but also strengthens the operational efficiency of healthcare providers.
How GP practices in the UK can effectively use this service.
To unlock the full potential of the service, GP practices in the UK must adopt innovative strategies and embrace a patient-centric approach. By actively promoting the benefits of registration, leveraging modern technology and fostering strong patient relationships, you can enhance your practice’s overall efficiency and quality of care.
- Promote registration benefits: more individuals can benefit by taking a proactive approach in promoting the benefits of the ‘Register with a GP surgery’ service. You can do this by encouraging community outreach programmes, informational leaflets and social media campaigns.
- Make use of technology: take advantage of additional ways to offer convenience to your patients. Online registration forms, patient portals and electronic health records (EHRs) can enhance the efficiency and accessibility of the registration process, making it easier for patients to register and for practices to manage patient information.
- Prioritise patient engagement: engaging with patients regularly and providing excellent customer service can foster trust and loyalty. Practices should focus on patient communications such as follow-ups on health concerns and providing timely reminders for appointments and preventative screenings. This proactive engagement helps maintain a strong patient-practice relationship.
By thinking outside the box and prioritising a seamless patient experience, GP practices can truly harness the power of the NHS 'Register with a GP surgery' service. Emphasising a proactive approach not only streamlines administrative tasks but also builds lasting trust and satisfaction among patients. This approach paves the way for a more connected and responsive healthcare system, ultimately benefiting both patients and practitioners.
UK Staffing for the best GP surgery services
As leading healthcare recruitment specialists, the MCG Healthcare team pride ourselves on connecting qualified healthcare workers with GP surgeries and other healthcare facilities across the UK. Your GP staffing needs will be met no matter the criteria, thanks to our comprehensive vetting process. Our recruiters can provide you with a team of highly trained and adaptable staff who can quickly respond to legislative changes, seizing growth opportunities that ensure your GP surgery staff provides top-notch care.
Register with us and confidently staff your GP surgery.
