What is all this about? I never had to show anything, just my passport and got signed up to NHS right away.
We must have the same GP! THREE times I went, brought what they had told me, and since the receptionist was different every time, it was never right. Finally I got one to sign her name to a list of stuff I would need and then went to get it.
The whole thing was weird so we called NHS Direct and asked them what we needed. They said just a passport with a valid visa and they gave me the number for our council person who was in charge of overseeing them and she said "if they don't take you as a patient with just your passport tell them that I sent you".
So it may be a good idea just to get the name and number of someone above the receptionists backing you up.
Thanks Andee and Danielle! I ended up just going to another GP office down the road. I showed them the same statement and received zero hassle. The receptionist even let me into the building even though it was a half hour before they opened! "We don't open until four, but it's cold so I'm making an exception today." Phew!
I figured that the rudeness that other receptionists showed me on the few times I went to that office wasn't worth dealing with every time I needed to see my doctor. My housemate also tried with a mobile bill for that particular GP office and though they recommended that I bring a mobile bill previously, they turned her away!
She's going to try again though.
Argh, I still don't get it! That same statement was good enough for another GP's office
and the British Library, but not for that little office!
