General Practitioner, Doctor, Physician

If you don’t want (or are ineligible to qualify for) healthcare protection from the country where you normally live, your situation depends on the country where you originally came from.

If you wish, you can register with a specific healthcare protection from your country of origin (when provided), but you will still pay and benefit from the local system.

You can find information (benefit packages and prices) on the web.

European Card for Sickness Insurance In case of medical care need when abroad in Europe, it allows European members to get refund for their medical expenses, according to the legal arrangement in the visited country. It replaces the E111 form and other European forms (E110, E119, E128) used for short term visits in European countries. It is an individual card with your name, and each family member should have one (including children under 16). It is valid 1 year and free. The card is not given automatically: you will need to ask your social security centre a few weeks before the departure.

All the hospitals will accept you for an emergency even if you don’t have a NHS number. You can go to the emergency department, but as patients are see by order of emergency, if you are not covered in blood you should take a book. For not emergency treatments, you should register with a General Practitioner.

The National Health Service manages the British health care system. In case of accident or sickness, you can benefit from the free cost system by registering with the General Practitioner (some residents from non Commonwealth/non EU countries have to pay for non accident/emergency treatment). You can find a list of GPs in your area at the Town Hall or Post Office.

Health service is free in the UK as long as you use a GP or a NHS hospital. Therefore you don’t have money refunded and the medicines you need (and prescribed by the GP) are all sold at the default cost of £6 per item.

If you need to see a Specialist, you will have to ask through your GP who will give you a reference letter.

If you need to change your GP after moving, you need to ask for a transfer. This is not a problem, except if the new medical centre is already full. Just register with a new GP at surgery.

It's possible to see an obstetrician in the family planning clinics (Family planning: 020 7837 5432)