New Patients
Register as New Patient
Our Practice area is Howdon, together with parts of Wallsend and North Shields - primarily NE28 postcodes. Please ask at reception for more information.
Our Practice list is currently open and we are accepting applications to join our list from people living in the above areas. To register with the Practice you will need to fill in a registration form and provide us with 2 methods of identification, both of which must contain your current address and one of which must contain an up to date photograph.
All new patients to the Practice will be required to have a short registration medical with one of our Practice Nurses or Health Care Assistant so that we can quickly get familiar with your current state of health and discuss any concerns you might have. Once you have attended your new registration medical you will then be fully registered at the practice.
Home visits can be arranged for anyone who is housebound.
Named GP
At Bewicke Medical Centre we believe everyone benefits from having a named usual doctor. This is the person we hope you would see for your health care.
What are the advantages of this ?
- You get to know your doctor.
- Your doctor gets to know you and about your health problems.
- Hospital letters and other correspondence will all go to the same doctor.
- You won't have to repeat the same information time after time to different doctors.
Are there any disadvantages?
- You may have to wait a bit longer to see or speak to them but we think the wait is often worth it.
- Although we are encouraging you to have a named usual doctor, this does not mean that you always have to see them every time for every problem.
- URGENT problems will be dealt with as needed, regardless of whether or not you usual doctor is available.
We are contractually obliged to allocate you a usual doctor. You will be advised at the registration stage of whom your usual doctor will be. Please ask about this when you are next in the surgery and if you want to change to someone else, please let us know.
Temporary Patient Registrations
If you are ill while away from home or if you are not registered with a doctor but need to see one you can receive emergency treatment from the local GP practice for 14 days. After 14 days you will need to register as a temporary or permanent patient.
You can be registered as a temporary patient for up to three months. This will allow you to be on the local practice list and still remain a patient of your permanent GP. After three months you will have to re-register as a temporary patient or permanently register with that practice.
To register as a temporary patient simply contact the local practice you wish to use. Practices do not have to accept you as a temporary patient although they do have an obligation to offer emergency treatment. You cannot register as a temporary patient at a practice in the town or area where you are already registered.
Non-English Speakers
These fact sheets have been written to explain the role of UK health services, the National Health Service (NHS), to newly-arrived individuals seeking asylum. They cover issues such as the role of GPs, their function as gatekeepers to the health services, how to register and how to access emergency services.
Special care has been taken to ensure that information is given in clear language, and the content and style has been tested with user groups.
Open the leaflets in one of the following languages:
Disabled Patient Facilities
The entrance to the building is designed for easy access for disabled visitors. We also have an accessible toilet and a baby changing unit in the ladies toilet.