NHS patient list checks – please respond if you’re contacted

NHS England is checking GP patient lists across the country to make sure they are accurate. If NHS records suggest a patient may have moved away or left England, that patient will be contacted by letter, email or text and asked to confirm or update their details.

If you receive one of these messages, please respond as soon as possible – even if you have lived at the same address for years.

What happens if you don’t respond?

If the NHS cannot confirm that you still live in England after several attempts to contact you, you may be removed from our patient list. This would mean you are no longer registered with a GP practice until you re-register.

You are protected

• Nobody is removed for missing a single letter. You will be contacted more than once, in more than one way, and given plenty of time to reply.
• Patients who have recently used NHS services (for example, an active prescription or a recent hospital visit) are excluded from these checks.
• The full process takes more than five months from start to finish.
• Patients are not selected based on ethnicity, nationality or any other personal characteristic.
• If you are ever removed in error, arrangements are in place for rapid re-registration and your access to NHS services will continue. Contact the practice straight away and we will help you.

How you can help

• Keep your address, mobile number and email address up to date with us. You can do this via the NHS App, our website, or by speaking to reception.
• Tell us if you are moving away or leaving the country, so your records stay accurate.
• Not sure whether a message is genuine? Contact us and we will check it for you.