Introduction
Northgate Medical Centre has been providing services to students of The University of Chester for some years now. We currently have more than 500 students registered with the practice.
Our aim is to provide the best possible healthcare during your time at University.
We are a 5 minute walk from the campus, on the way to the City Centre.
We are located in the Fountains Building on Delamere Street, 1st Floor, blue reception desk
Registration
During your time at University you will be living in Chester for the majority of the year. Therefore, it is important that you register with a local GP in Chester as soon as possible and not wait until you are poorly. It is particularly important if you have a long term condition such as asthma, epilepsy or diabetes, or require medication. Your new doctor will be able to liaise with your usual hospital Consultant if necessary.
During the holidays you can return to your home GP and be seen as a temporary patient as needed.
If you would like to register with us, please follow the ‘New Patients’ tab on our home page and click ‘You can register with us on-line’. This is the quickest way to register. Please provide us with your NHS number. If you do not know this, you could find it by contacting your previous GP surgery.
Please also ensure that you provide us with your Chester address as your home address.
Appointments
Once registered, to make an appointment you can ring us on 01244 385553 or use our on-line consultation service called Patchs. Click the link on our front page for our on-line services. You can also register on the NHS App or Patient Access where you can book or cancel your appointments and order any repeat medication.
When ringing for an appointment you may be asked for a brief indication of the problem. This is to prioritise problems and ensure patients are seen by the correct person at the correct time. Local pharmacists are able to give advice and treatment on a number of minor illnesses, no appointment necessary.
When we are closed you can contact 111 or on-line at www.111.nhs.uk
In a medical emergency dial 999 or go to A&E.
Contraception & Sexual Health
Contraception
We offer a full range of contraception options at the surgery, including long-acting reversible methods. If you need an appointment for contraception, please contact the surgery to make an appointment.
If you require emergency contraception, you can get this from any of the local pharmacies providing they have a pharmacist available at the time. It is always worth ringing them to check beforehand.
Sexual Health
If you would like a free full sexual health screening, which is recommended, there is a sexual health clinic. Click here for their website. They have several clinics across Cheshire.
There is a screening campaign in West Cheshire which aims to reduce the prevalence of Chlamydia in the community. This is why all young people aged 16-25 are offered a test even if no symptoms are evident and you are attending the practice concerning another issue.
Letters/forms/reports
‘To Whom It May Concern’ forms are £15 for students. You will need an appt with GP and need to fill in a ‘To whom it may concern request’ form in and pay cash or cheque upfront.
Camp America without examination is £20, with an examination £30.
Medical evidence forms for University (usually DSA) are £20.
Travel Vaccinations
You will need to complete a travel form initially, you can pick this up from the Practice or we can email to you. The nurse will look at the form and get in touch with you to advise if we do the vaccines that you need for where you are travelling to and then an appointment can be booked if we are able to do the vaccines. Allow plenty of time to contact us about travel vaccines at least six weeks before.