Health

Registering with a GP — free, for everyone

Anyone in England can register with a GP surgery and see a doctor or nurse free of charge. You do not need ID, proof of address, proof of immigration status, or an NHS number — the NHS's own guidance says so explicitly. If you have no fixed address, you can register using a temporary address or the surgery's own address. A surgery that refuses you must explain why in writing within 14 days, and "no documents" is not a lawful reason.

• Register with a GP surgery (NHS) — including online registration.
• Wrongly turned away? The Doctors of the World clinic advice line (0808 1647 686, free) helps people refused registration.

Gotcha: receptionists often ask for documents anyway. It is fine to provide them if you have them — but not having them cannot stop you registering. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own NHS systems with the same open approach to GP registration.

NHS dentists — how it actually works

NHS dental care is not free for most adults: you pay fixed NHS charges per course of treatment (three bands, set each year), which are far below private prices. The hard part is finding a practice taking new NHS patients — you are not tied to your home area, so ring around and ask to go on waiting lists. Check-ups, children's treatment and some benefits recipients are exempt from charges.

• NHS dental services — find a dentist and current charges (NHS)
• Urgent dental problem with no dentist? Call NHS 111.

Emergencies and urgent care

• 999 — life-threatening emergencies. A&E treatment for emergencies is free for everyone.
• NHS 111 (phone or online) — urgent but not life-threatening; it directs you to the right service, 24 hours a day.

Prescriptions

In England a prescription costs a fixed charge per item (free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Many people are exempt — check before paying, and if you pay often, a prepayment certificate caps the cost.

• Prescription costs and exemptions (NHS)

Mental health

Your GP is the front door for most NHS mental health care — but in England you can also refer yourself to free NHS talking therapies without seeing a GP first.

• Self-refer to NHS talking therapies (NHS)
• Samaritans — call 116 123, free, any time, about anything you're going through.

GHIC and EHIC — cover when you travel

If you live in the UK, a free UK GHIC (or, for many Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries, a UK-issued EHIC) covers medically necessary state healthcare when you visit the EU. Apply only through the NHS — unofficial sites charge for what is free.

• Apply for a free UK GHIC (NHS)

Hospital charging — know where the line is

GP care is free for everyone, but some hospital care is chargeable for people not "ordinarily resident" in the UK. People with settled or pre-settled status living here are ordinarily resident and entitled to free NHS hospital care — yet wrongful invoices happen, and they are frightening. Do not simply pay a bill you believe is wrong: see wrongly charged by the NHS.

When care goes wrong

You can complain about any NHS service — your GP surgery, an NHS dentist, or a hospital. Complain to the service itself first, in writing; in hospitals the PALS team can help you do it. There is normally a 12-month time limit, running from the event or from when you first realised something was wrong. Complaining never affects the care you get — that is the law, not a favour. See the full route: when medical or dental treatment goes wrong.

If the service's own reply does not resolve it, an NHS complaint in England can go to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, the final independent stage. Where your concern is about an individual professional's fitness to practise — rather than the service — raise it with their regulator: the General Dental Council for dentists, the General Medical Council for doctors. Both routes are set out under when care goes wrong.

If you may have been harmed — including by dental negligence — the charity AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents) runs a free specialist helpline that explains your options. A court claim for negligence normally has a 3-year time limit; for treatment during childhood it runs from the child's 18th birthday. These deadlines are strict, so get advice early rather than late — the harm route lists who to contact.

Gotcha: children's NHS dental care is free. If a dentist repeatedly fails to provide or refer the treatment a child needs, that is a proper reason to complain — to the practice, then to the Ombudsman — so do not wait years hoping it improves.

Last reviewed: July 2026.