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If you’re having problems signing up with an NHS family doctor (GP) and/or getting healthcare, our team can give you free and confidential support – whatever your immigration status and wherever you live in the UK.
PLEASE CALL OUR ADVICE LINE ON 0808 164 7686, 10AM-12PM, TUESDAY TO THURSDAY. LINES MAY BE BUSY SO PLEASE TRY MORE THAN ONCE.
PLEASE NOTE OUR ADVICE LINE IS STAFFED BY NON- CLINICAL CASEWORKERS
If you need to speak to a doctor urgently, please call 111 or attend your nearest walk-in centre. In an emergency, please go to the Accident and Emergency department at your nearest hospital or call 999. You can find the nearest hospital here.
We are adapting our services to ensure we can remain flexible to meet need wherever it arises, on a local and national scale. For this reason, we have closed our London-based clinic on the 26th March 2025.
If you need information on your rights to accessing healthcare in the UK, support registering with a GP or are being denied hospital treatment on the basis of your immigration status, please call us on our Advice Line on 0808 164 7686 (free phone) Tuesday to Thursday from 10am-12pm.
Please note our lines are very busy and we encourage everyone to try again if they cannot get through the first time.
We can help you with:
- GP registration (a family doctor)
- Filling out HC1 forms to help with the cost of prescriptions, dental care and glasses for those who are not working
- Getting help to see a midwife in a hospital to check the health of mother and baby
- Getting support to end a pregnancy
- Finding other useful services
- Understanding your rights to medical (NHS) primary, hospital and community healthcare care in the UK, and what happens if you are refused treatment or get a bill for hospital or community care.
You should know that:
- We value your voice and will not make a decision without involving you in it
- Our service is free for everyone; please tell us if you have paid anyone any money to come to us today
- Our service is confidential – we will not share your information with anyone (unless someone’s life or wellbeing is at risk)
- Under the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679), you have the right to access, check and change your
- We are not an emergency service
- You have the right to make a complaint
Contact
Doctors of the World’s advice line is open Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 12 midday on freephone 0808 1647 686.
Please note as these calls are being picked up remotely, there may be a longer delay than normal.
Our advice line number is undergoing some work at the moment. Please send us an email at clinic@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk if you can’t get through.
If you’re from an organisation, please email clinic@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk .
Interpreting services are available for people who don’t speak English.
Information for organisations
If you would like to refer someone to us, please request a referral form at clinic@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk.
Referrals we can accept:
- For support accessing primary care (registering with a GP)
- For support accessing ante natal care or terminations of pregnancy
- Reviewing refusal of hospital care and challenging where appropriate, or establishing whether an exemption applies.
Referrals we cannot accept:
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Where the person has not consented, where the referral is incomplete
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For medico-legal reports; fit to fly letters; sick notes.
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For letters to request exemption from Home Office reporting
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Waiving charging for hospital care where an exemption does not apply (we can give general advice on management of debt)
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Where the person is already registered with a GP and would like a second medical opinion.
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Transferring care to another hospital
We aim to respond to referral within 5 working days.
At Doctors of the World, we make sure we protect the information our service users give us. We ask all our service users for consent to allow us to handle their data.
You can find copies of our consent forms (including translated versions) here: https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/data-consent-forms/
Doctors of the World UK is regulated by the Care Quality Commission. The service was last inspected in February 2022 and was found to be Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led. The complete report can be found here.
Click here if you would like to share your experience of DOTW’s services with the Care Quality Commission.
Let us know what you think about our service: If you have used our service and would like to share your opinion with us, so that we can improve it for people in the future, please email us at clinic@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
We recognise that problems may arise with services we provide. If you wish to complain about the care and service provided by Doctors of the World UK, please complete the complaint form and send it to the Doctors of the World UK’s office (The People’s Place, 80-92 High St, London E15 2NE). Alternatively, you can email clinic@doctorsoftheworld.org.uk.
Should you wish to make a complaint about us or our work, we give you the following undertakings:
- Making a complaint will not affect the level of care you receive.
- We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within five working days and give you a brief indication of the process and the anticipated time for response.
- The manager will investigate the complaint and provide a written response within 20 days with an offer to meet/discuss on the telephone if appropriate. All complaints are taken seriously and are handled openly and honestly.
