We get an increasing number of requests from patients asking to remain registered at Hartland surgery after moving out of our catchment area, for example to Barnstaple, Bideford or Bude.
We appreciate there are usually very good reasons why people wish to stay with our practice where they already know the doctors and staff. We are also aware that access to GP appointments might be more difficult at other practices.
We decided in late 2019 that we would only be treating “out of area” registration requests fairly if we applied the same rule to all:
We do not register out of area patients
We want to briefly outline some reasons why we apply this rule.
Our registered patient list size has grown in the last 5 years, from 2669 in March 2018, to 2933 in March 2023, an increase of 10%.
We also have 28% of our practice population aged 65 and above, compared to a national average of 19%.
The overall picture is that we are busier, delivering many more appointments and reviews than before. We need to ensure we sometimes say no to requests, such as allowing out of area registration. Hopefully by doing this, we can keep doing our core job to a good standard and remain proud to serve our community.
