He said: "The way the NHS works means every patient needs to have a registered address and this seemed like a good, workable solution.
It is, say staff at the Montpelier Health Centre, the only way of overcoming ridiculous NHS red tape which is preventing them offering treatment to street-sleepers.
The new address is simple - Park Bench, Portland Square, Bristol - and even has its own postcode.
Practice manager Tony Palmer found it impossible to put new patients on the books if they were of "no fixed abode", so the health authority has let him turn the bench into a home solely for the purposes of medical records.
He said: "The way the NHS works means every patient needs to have a
registered address and this seemed like a good, workable solution.
"I think we have about six people at that address now and it is working okay."
Family doctors are paid by a labyrinthine system of fees, and often end up registering patients as temporary visitors to the area in order to be able to claim payment for treating them.
However, three months later, the homeless patients are back to square one unless the same arrangment can be recreated.
More medical problems
Ironically, homeless people generally have more need of medical assistance than other people, and often end up at Accident and Emergency Units asking for help.
A spokesman for the homeless charity Shelter said: "Our research suggests that as many as 37% of homeless people are not registered with a GP - that's 10 times the proportion of the general population.
"They are missing out on elements of care such as proper repeat prescriptions, and a GP who knows your full history.
"We've suggested a number of ways of making registration simpler."