Top Tips for Registering with your GP

– As a veteran It is important to register with a GP, rather than wait until you need treatment: Visit the NHS website to find out details of GP practices in your local area (England)

– Tell your GP that you’ve served in the UK Armed Forces: Ask for the term ‘military veteran’ to be recorded in your patient record in the GP computer system. This will help your GP to better understand any military related health conditions that you may have and ensure that you are referred, where appropriate, to dedicated health and wellbeing services for veterans.

– Give your GP the paperwork that your military medical centre gave you, including any medical records: If you’ve recently left the forces, it is important to do this to help ensure your military health record transfers to your NHS health record. This will give your GP information on your health and ensure that any ongoing care and treatment is continued.

Kate Davies, National Director for Armed Forces Health, NHS England, advises:

It’s really important that veterans who need treatment and support get the help they need and the best way to do this is to register with a GP practice and tell them you’ve served.  Along with helping to ensure that veterans get the support that’s right for them, this means that GPs and other healthcare professionals can better understand any health problems, particularly those related to a person’s time in the Armed Forces.

My message to veterans is that it’s never too late to tell your GP practice you’ve served; it doesn’t matter how long you served for or when you left the Armed Forces, sharing this information may be relevant to your health and care, now or in the future, and the NHS is here for you.