Where We Are
Citizens Advice advisers working inside GP surgeries, and the neighbourhoods they serve.
A second door beside the surgery
Most people visit their general practice for a medical reason, yet many of the problems they carry through its doors are not medical at all. A letter about benefits goes unanswered, rent arrears build quietly, or a job is at risk because of a long illness. In these moments a GP can point the way, but cannot always untangle the paperwork.
Citizens Advice in GP practices places trained advisers within or alongside the surgery so that patients can speak to someone about money, housing, employment and legal questions without leaving the building or waiting weeks for an appointment elsewhere. The service sits beside clinical care rather than replacing it.
The surgery as a meeting place
Our advisers work from rooms that patients already trust. Reception staff can flag a concern, a practice nurse can make a referral, and the adviser can follow up in person or by telephone. Because the service is familiar, people who would never call a stranger about a debt letter often take the first step.
Nobody comes to the surgery hoping to talk about their council tax. When the adviser sits down with them, the conversation usually turns to the thing that has kept them awake for a month.
Practice manager, south London surgery
Where the service operates
Coverage differs from one practice to another, shaped by local partnerships and the needs of each patient list. The common features are consistent, however, and they are what patients can expect when the adviser is in the building.
- Sessions held on fixed days, so patients can plan a visit
- Confidential appointments in a private room
- Help with benefits, debt, housing and employment
- Referrals to specialist advice when a case needs more time
Reaching the adviser
Patients can ask the reception team about the adviser's next session, or read more about our work on the services page. Questions about the programme in general are answered on the frequently asked questions page.
Where a visit is not possible, the team can arrange a telephone call, and the adviser will explain what information is needed before the call begins.
Looking ahead
The partnership continues to grow as practices learn what their patients need. The next stage is closer work with local housing teams and community groups, so that a referral leads to a result rather than a list of phone numbers.
For the locations and dates of current sessions, visit the home page or read the background to the partnership.
Practice life in the afternoon
By mid-afternoon the surgery is busy with repeat prescriptions, blood tests and telephone triage. The adviser's session is planned to fit around this rhythm, so that a patient who has waited a morning for an appointment is not sent away again.
Where we are is, in the end, a question of access. Every surgery we work with has shown that a single room, a regular day and a trusted face can change what a patient is willing to say out loud.
Read the case studies or the statistics to see how this plays out in practice.