Welcome to our guide on You and Your General Practice — a national initiative from NHS England designed to help you understand how your GP surgery works and how to get the best from your healthcare team

What is “You and Your General Practice”?

“You and Your General Practice” is a patient-friendly resource that outlines:

• How and when to contact the practice
• What happens when you request an appointment
• Who might be involved in your care — including GPs, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals
• Your rights as a patient, including fair treatment and access to services
• How you can support the practice- such as cancelling appointments you can’t attend, being prepared and using online services
• How to give feedback or raise concerns- with your practice, Healthwatch or the Integrated Care Board (ICB)

This guide is especially useful for:

• People new to the UK
• Patients staying away from home
• Anyone who may need extra help or adjustments

Why It Matters

Understanding how general practice works helps you:

• Access care more efficiently
• Receive the right support from the right professional
• Make the most of NHS services
• Contribute to a better experience for everyone

Access the full guide

You can read or download the full NHS England guide here:

You and Your General Practice – NHS England

We encourage all our patients to take a few minutes to read this page. It provides useful insight into how general practice works and how we can all play a part in keeping services effective, fair, and supportive for our whole community.

Translated Versions

The guide is available in multiple languages including:

Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Spanish, Sylheti, Turkish, Urdu — and more.