GP Health Centres – naming and branding
In response to a number of queries asking for advice on the branding and naming of the new GP Health Centres, a set of principles have been agreed by the NHS. The principles below have been developed in conjunction with primary care leads in policy, communications and primary care leads and Strategic Health Authorities.

Naming
Centre names should follow as closely as possible our existing naming guidance that names should be:

* clear and descriptive – not conceptual or abstract;
* written out in full – without the use of acronyms or abbreviations;
* contain a geographical reference where possible.

NHS support using the term health centre but advise against names such as, health plus, health consortium and primary care centre as these terms are not widely understood and therefore not clear and descriptive.

Anytown Health Centre would therefore be acceptable.

The centre name should not include the name of the provider, as in text it could appear as a paid for private service. This will help communicate that these are fundamentally NHS services.

For the latest information on all NHS brand guidelines please visit the NHS brand web site.

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