We are only able to accept patients who live within our practice area which covers Harpenden and some of the Villages. We will contact you if your address is outside of this area and we are unable to accept your registration. 

To register, please complete a registration form (GMS1) by clicking on the picture below; the completed form will be sent securely via the NHS website directly to our reception team. On receipt, your form will be checked by the admin team to ensure you are eligible to register with the practice. A member of staff may contact you if further information is required so please make sure an appropriate day time phone number is specified on the registration form to assist the registration process.

We will not routinely inform you once your registration is complete but we will text you a link to complete a simple health questionnaire. This questionnaire provides us with some basic information about your health which is of value whilst we wait for your medical history to be updated. 

All new patients aged 18 years and over, automatically become members of our Patient Participation Group (PPG) on registration. The PPG hold educational and information meetings, run surveys and provide the practice with a patient perspective on the services we offer. There is no commitment associated with membership although we are always keen to hear from patients who wish to be more involved. For more information click here  

We welcome patients with disabilities at The Elms. Designated car park spaces are available close to the main entrance and there is easy access to the building via a permanent ramp and wide front door.  Patient services are all provided on the ground floor. Internally, the surgery is equipped with an automatic internal door, large waiting areas and consultation rooms, wheel chair accessible reception desk and a hearing loop. The toilet facilities are fully accessible. 

The door to the consulting rooms corridor is a fire door and has to be kept closed however, reception staff are always available to open this door on request

We have a wheelchair on site for patients with mobility issues to use and our receptionists are happy to inform clinicians if a patient would benefit from being met in the waiting room and assisted to the consulting room. 

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 this practice for 14 days. After 14 days you will need to register as a temporary or permanent patient.

If you are planning to stay in the area for some time, you can be registered as a temporary patient for up to three months. This will allow you to be on our practice list and still remain a patient of your GP. After three months you will have to re-register as a permanent patient.

To register as a temporary patient simply contact us on 01582 767444. If we are very busy we may not be able to accept you as a temporary patient but we will offer you emergency treatment if this is clinically indicated. We cannot accept you as a temporary patient if you are already a patient at a local practice. 

Your NHS number is the only National Unique Patient Identifier, used to help healthcare staff and service providers match you to your health record.

Correct use of the NHS Number can greatly reduce the risks to patient safety arising from lost records and inaccessibility of records across organisational, administrative and clinical boundaries. It can also reduce errors arising from similarities and complexities in patients’ names and other personal data.

When registering at the practice we encourage our new patients to provide as much information as possible including the NHS Number, if known. If the NHS number is not known the NHS number will be traced via the Primary Care Registration Office on a national system known as the Personal Demographic Service. This PDS record will provide information about our patients previous GP and allow their previous medical history to be transferred to our practice.

Once the registration process is completed your NHS Number will be confirmed. We encourage all our patients to ask reception for their NHS Number details to then keep for their own record.

Upon registration, new patients are usually registered with an allocated doctor but we have a policy that allows patients to see the doctor of their choice whenever possible.

Moving House

If you are currently registered with us and move outside of our catchment area we are sorry but you will need to register with a doctor who covers your area. Unfortunately this applies to those of you who only just cross over our boundaries.

For those patients who have previously be registered at a NHS surgery in England, we should receive their past medical history electronically within a few days. This record may not be complete but will provide details of current medications and recent consultations. 

All other records are held on paper and it maybe a few weeks until these are received. 

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: