Register with a doctor

You must register with a doctor (called a ‘general practitioner’ or ‘GP’) if you are studying in person at the University of St Andrews for 12 weeks or more.  

You must register as soon as you can once you have matriculated, especially if you take prescribed medication. If you are not registered, there may be a delay in getting your medication or accessing healthcare. For guidance, please email studenthealth@st-andrews.ac.uk. 

All international students will need to have a UK SIM card for their mobile phone while studying in St Andrews to access NHS services, including urgent medical care. 

Register

There are two NHS GP practices in St Andrews. The practice you should register with depends on your family name: 

• Register with Pipeland Medical Practice if your family name begins with a letter between ‘A’ and ‘Nt’. 
• Register with Blackfriars Medical Practice if your family name begins with a letter between ‘Nu’ and ‘Z’. 

The practices will not confirm registration and will only contact you if there is a problem with your registration forms. You must complete the forms fully or the medical practice will not register you.

Both practices are at St Andrews Community Hospital. This is a 20-minute walk or five-minute bus ride from the town centre.  

You can change GP practices later if you wish. 

If you live outside St Andrews, find your local GP on the NHS website. 

What you need to register

• student ID 
• proof of your term-time address 
• completed registration forms (if required) 
• a copy of your full vaccination history.

If you have a health condition, you may need to provide medical documents that confirm your diagnosis.  

If you take prescribed medication, you need to provide documents that state: 

• what medication you take 
• the dosage 
• a treatment plan. 

You will be asked for your NHS/CHI number when completing your registration forms. If you have never registered with an NHS GP practice before, leave this section blank. 

Study Abroad students

If you are going to be in the practices' catchment area for less than 3 months you will only be registered as a Temporary Resident (TR). This gives you temporary cover while you are away from your normal provider and require urgent healthcare. 

You do not need to fully register and you contact the practices when you need an appointment.

Urgent appointments for Study Abroad students

The practices have an urgent triage service and do not accept walk-ins. You need to have a phone call before any face-to-face appointments.

If you do not have a UK telephone number you cannot use the urgent triage service. You will need to access the private healthcare sector.

Planned appointments for Study Abroad students

You can access routine face-to-face appointments made in advance. You cannot be referred to secondary care to see a specialist.

The University encourages students who are only here for one semester to have private healthcare insurance. This will give you access to the private healthcare sector, which can offer quicker appointments. A UK phone number is not needed.

To find out which medical practice you can use as a Temporary Resident, email studenthealth@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Private GP service 

If you want to access private health services, there are a choice of two practices: one in St Andrews and one in Dundee, which is about 12 miles away.

The St Andrews Private GP Clinic is based in St Andrews.

Book a private GP video consultation or in-clinic appointment by visiting the website.

• Phone: +44 (0)1334 80 6330
• Email: enquiries@stagp.co.uk
• Book online by visiting the web page.

Tayside Complete Health is based in Dundee.

• Phone: +44 (0)1382 54 9088