Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I have split these posts out of Kevs thread so that you can all discuss the NHS in this thread and leave Kevs thread on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I am following this thread with interest as we are looking at travelling back at some stage for a holiday but it sounds very difficult if you need medical help. I didn't even realise that you have only one item per prescription now. My mum was rushed in to hospital here this week with a suspected heart attack, they never asked for any Id and she received fantastic care, I was shocked to hear @Keith and Linda experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I have no trouble getting an appointment ....j was saying I used to be able to turn up @ 8am and get seen straight away .....now due to population growth ,they have stopped it .....Now you have to book . Ah yes the good old days. I don't know of anywhere you can just walk in and be seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 It's really quite simple, although the rules are slightly different for each country within the UK. If you come from Australia, or any country with a reciprocal arrangement, you can access the NHS. What you're entitled to free depends on the agreement. GPs don't have to accept you, but they can and most do for urgent care. You can go to walk in centres, urgent care centres or A&E if they're available. You may have to pay the prescription charge for drugs or dental treatment etc. Emergency care is free. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/healthcare/help-with-health-costs/nhs-charges-for-people-from-abroad/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 It's really quite simple, although the rules are slightly different for each country within the UK.If you come from Australia, or any country with a reciprocal arrangement, you can access the NHS. What you're entitled to free depends on the agreement. GPs don't have to accept you, but they can and most do for urgent care. You can go to walk in centres, urgent care centres or A&E if they're available. You may have to pay the prescription charge for drugs or dental treatment etc. Emergency care is free. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/healthcare/help-with-health-costs/nhs-charges-for-people-from-abroad/ It may not be simple enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 So back to my question from earlier. Should I just show my British Passport. Does it help being a citizen if not a resident ? Am I better off not saying I live in Australia but just show my british passport ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 So back to my question from earlier.Should I just show my British Passport. Does it help being a citizen if not a resident ? Am I better off not saying I live in Australia but just show my british passport ? Or I wonder if we could say we live in another town and are visiting friends? I wonder if the system is linked up. I can't remeber UK doctors ever asking for residential proof when you visit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 We didn't have to show passports. It was very straightforward registering. For a visiting Brit just explain the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 (edited) Ah yes the good old days. I don't know of anywhere you can just walk in and be seen. Come to ACT, I can walk into the Doctors surgery of my choice without an appointment and with a approx 30-40 min wait see my Doc of choice. Works great. My UK Doc noticed my address had changed when I used a podiatrist in a neighbouring town and immediately dropped me from their practice. My sister still 'officially' lives with my mum, for the purposes of seeing the same family doctor.. Edited July 9, 2015 by Peach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 It's really quite simple, although the rules are slightly different for each country within the UK.If you come from Australia, or any country with a reciprocal arrangement, you can access the NHS. What you're entitled to free depends on the agreement. GPs don't have to accept you, but they can and most do for urgent care. You can go to walk in centres, urgent care centres or A&E if they're available. You may have to pay the prescription charge for drugs or dental treatment etc. Emergency care is free. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/healthcare/help-with-health-costs/nhs-charges-for-people-from-abroad/ Thanks for that link, and I find it interesting that it doesn't acknowledge that reciprocal agreements even exist, unless I missed a mention somewhere in all that verbiage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Come to ACT, I can walk into the Doctors surgery of my choice without an appointment and with a approx 30-40 min wait see my Doc of choice. Works great. Yes it's the same here. Although I have just registered Rob and myself with our new Dr and he did say the receptionist will always say I have to wait a few days for an appointment but for me he told me to call his direct and he will see me immediately. I suppose it depends on each Dr, clinic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Yes it's the same here. Although I have just registered Rob and myself with our new Dr and he did say the receptionist will always say I have to wait a few days for an appointment but for me he told me to call his direct and he will see me immediately. I suppose it depends on each Dr, clinic. Here the Doc online booking system quickly fills up, but they never want to turn customers away so allow walk ups. I've found the waiting time to be similar whether you have an appointment or not, so I've stopped bothering to book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I can go into our walk in clinic and be seen but if I want to see my GP I can't expect them to be available just when I want to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I can go into our walk in clinic and be seen but if I want to see my GP I can't expect them to be available just when I want to see them. Read my posts. I didn't mention a walk in clinic, I referred to a walk in appointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 I am following this thread with interest as we are looking at travelling back at some stage for a holiday but it sounds very difficult if you need medical help.I didn't even realise that you have only one item per prescription now. My mum was rushed in to hospital here this week with a suspected heart attack, they never asked for any Id and she received fantastic care, I was shocked to hear @Keith and Linda experience Emergency care is free here too. If you were in the same situation, you would be treated without question. Its really not difficult, although there is a lot of confusion within the system about what the rules are, mostly due to a lack of training. Prescription charges are for outpatient prescriptions, so make sure you bring anything you think you'll need with you. Drugs given in hospital for any emergency treatment should be free. There is also the option of a prepayment certificate (I'm not sure if these are available for overseas visitors though, and haven't got time to check now) which costs around £30 for three months, I think. That's a pretty good 'insurance' if you think you might need extra outpatient meds. The rules are pretty much the same as for visitors to Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Read my posts. I didn't mention a walk in clinic, I referred to a walk in appointment. Read my post, I wasn't referring to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 From my local surgery's website: "We encourage patients to make appointments with the doctor of their choice, however we recognise that you cannot always predict when you will need to see a doctor and that there are occasions when you will need to see your doctor as soon as possible with little or no notice. Because of this, we welcome walk-in patients, however, patients with appointments have priority over those who do not, and those patients without appointments will wait longer than those who do." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bound4Tassie Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 My parents stayed with us recently for a month ( from a different area of uk). They just filled in a temporary resident form and were seen at my GPs for their flu jabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Thanks for that link, and I find it interesting that it doesn't acknowledge that reciprocal agreements even exist, unless I missed a mention somewhere in all that verbiage. This is may be more useful then, although it only shows which countries have a reciprocal agreement, not what's included. It being reciprocal would imply that it's the same as the country you're coming from though. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/NonEEAcountries/Pages/Non-EEAcountries.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 If it is something urgent I can be seen the same day, if it isn't urgent then it might be the next day or even the day after or I can use the walk in clinic same day. It would be the same for someone visiting the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 From my local surgery's website: "We encourage patients to make appointments with the doctor of their choice, however we recognise that you cannot always predict when you will need to see a doctor and that there are occasions when you will need to see your doctor as soon as possible with little or no notice. Because of this, we welcome walk-in patients, however, patients with appointments have priority over those who do not, and those patients without appointments will wait longer than those who do." The surgeries I've worked in have all had these. They're called 'sit and wait' and usually happen at the end of morning and evening surgeries, both with drs and nurses. The nurses at our surgery hold them specifically for young people on a Monday, so they can access prevention, contraceptive, screening and advice without needing to make an appointment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 The surgeries I've worked in have all had these. They're called 'sit and wait' and usually happen at the end of morning and evening surgeries, both with drs and nurses. The nurses at our surgery hold them specifically for young people on a Monday, so they can access prevention, contraceptive, screening and advice without needing to make an appointment. Yes our surgery has these, they are appointments throughout the day held back for urgent matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 The surgeries I've worked in have all had these. They're called 'sit and wait' and usually happen at the end of morning and evening surgeries, both with drs and nurses. The nurses at our surgery hold them specifically for young people on a Monday, so they can access prevention, contraceptive, screening and advice without needing to make an appointment. Here in Canberra, it applies to the whole time the surgery is open -- read my earlier posts in the thread. Maximum I've ever had to wait to see my and the kids Doc is 40 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celt Down Under Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 We have just returned from a visit to the UK. and Mrs CDU went to see what the go was with a Docs visit. 15 pounds to see the Doc, plus the full cost of any meds required. Compare that to the BIL's visit to the Doc when out here last Christmas, when is cost him nothing for the visit to the Doc, but the meds did cost. The UK Doc said that he would only treat overseas visitors as a private patient, reciprocal agreement or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolman Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 We have just returned from a visit to the UK. and Mrs CDU went to see what the go was with a Docs visit. 15 pounds to see the Doc, plus the full cost of any meds required. Compare that to the BIL's visit to the Doc when out here last Christmas, when is cost him nothing for the visit to the Doc, but the meds did cost. The UK Doc said that he would only treat overseas visitors as a private patient, reciprocal agreement or not. As a private patient £15 is good value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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