When settling in Canterbury you need to register with a General Practice team. This team will become your first point of contact for health advice and care.
Once registered/enrolled you can also call your General Practice Team 24 hours a day seven days a week, for free health care advice. After-hours your call will be answered by a registered nurse who can advise on what to do, and where to go if you need to be seen by a doctor.
To enrol with a doctor, you need to choose a General Practice that is accepting new patients, you can contact a general practice to check their current situation.
If the practice is accepting new patients, you will need to complete and sign a form which the doctor, nurse or medical centre receptionist will give you. The form will require you to provide some personal details such as name, age, date of birth, address and ethnicity. You can find contact details for local General Practices by using our General Practice Finder Map.
You can also visit a PHO website for more information about enroling with a medical practice:
Pegasus Health General Practices
Christchurch PHO General Practices
Waitaha Primary Health – Enrolment
For after-hours care there are three clinics in Christchurch you can visit. They are equipped to provide urgent medical care, treat fractures, broken bones, wound care, minor surgery and more..
You can find out more after hours care in this brochure, New to Canterbury? Register with a General Practice team for your health care needs (PDF, 440KB)
Page last updated: 19 January 2022
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