AndyMan74

Just a quick update - My wife’s GP had actually done a letter for free the day after we requested it and put it up on her online medical records where I then emailed it to Knightsbridge (we were not made aware of this hence jumping to conclusions...our bad). We got an email back saying unless you hear back in 3 days then the letter was good to go (fingers crossed).

viitav

I hope you get the letter back ASAP KK85 so you can get over to hubby ASAP!

We move next week I can't believe it!

KK85

So exciting, viitav! Wishing you the very best of luck! Thank you for the positive vibes.

This is fantastic! Fingers crossed you get the news (or lack thereof) that you're looking for very promptly.

Your doctor certainly sounds as though they are being far more amenable than those at the surgery where I'm registered. This is what went down for me today:

1. Paid £140 (not £160, as I'd mistakenly said in my previous post) to GP and asked for magical letter to be re-written and for copies of all correspondence relating to my mental health to be copied and sent to Knightsbridge.

2. Advised by receptionist at GP's office that the doctor would write the letter and cherry pick the correspondence from my medical records, but that they would be given to me in paper form and would need to be collected from the surgery by me - she would not send them directly to Knightsbridge.

3. Called Knightsbridge and asked if it would be acceptable for me to send the documents to them rather than have my GP do it, as the doctor I saw at my visa medical told me quite plainly that the information would have to come from the GP directly, not from me, and that me sending copies of the letters from the medical records that I'd purchased would not suffice (even though it's the exact same documents the GP would send). Was then informed by Knightsbridge receptionist that this is incorrect, and that I could indeed send copies of the letters myself, whether they were taken from my medical records by me or by my GP. Makes no difference to Knightsbridge. Instantly regretted paying £140 to GP this morning because I'm paying for a job to be done that I can do myself for free (I paid £50 for my full medical records months ago, and everything I need is in there).

4. Called GP's office again. Asked them to either talk to me about refunding some of my £140 and suggested I would gather copies of the correspondence myself, and asked if my GP could please just write the letter that was requested from Knightsbridge instead, without doing all this letter-gathering stuff, which I'd originally been told was the expensive bit. Was informed by the GP's receptionist that my £140 "is paying for photocopying and hours of time, so the cost would apply anyway". Fair enough, never mind, would rather just get this done than fight over it. I asked, then, if that £140 could please also include having the GP or a receptionist fax or email the details over to Knightsbridge, rather than printing everything out and having me come all the way to Cardiff to collect them, because all the latter is achieving is having me then fax everything to Knightsbridge, which is something I could do myself right now, for free, and save the GP loads of time and energy. Was told by receptionist that no, they can't do that, because "it would take at least half an hour to fax all those pieces of paper", and apparently that's not included in my £140.

5. Called husband to ask if he's ever heard of someone being paid £280 per hour to send faxes? He hadn't either.

6. Eventually managed to persuade the receptionist at my GP's office to have someone there fax the documents to Knightsbridge. I've paid that surgery £310 so far in work for this medical, and other peoples' GPs are doing this stuff for free, so having a flippin' fax included in that fee should not be considered such an obnoxious request.

7. Was then told that because I was no longer having paper copies put aside for me to collect and send to Knightsbridge myself, that this would now "take as long as it takes", and would not necessarily be done in the time-frame quoted originally. Got mad. Started asking questions, spoke to a different receptionist, and have now been assured that this should be done by Friday.

It has been one hell of a day.
(Apologies for the ranty tone, also. I am quite ready for this medical stuff to be over!)

AndyMan74

It does sound like your having a bit of a nightmare. All I would say is keep at them and make them earn that £310 and you will get to the place you want to be. At this rate you will have mental health issues due to an uncooperative receptionist. My wife is not quite in the clear yet, were a little worried that the letter her GP wrote was a little short and a bit vague but we shall see and good luck to you KK85.

KK85

Thank you so much. Very best of luck to you and your wife, too! I bet it'll be absolutely fine.

KK85

Just a small update...

As of today, Knightsbridge Doctors finally have everything they asked for from my GP. It was a bit of a nightmare getting it to them (I was dealing with some rather uncooperative GP receptionists, and one particularly wonderful one), but at least it's now in their hands. There are 76 pages of medical notes for the Knightsbridge doctors to leaf through! I'm a bit baffled by this - there's certainly not that much material solely on my mental health in what I've seen on my medical records - but I'm hoping it's simply a case of my GP not leaving a single stone unturned and, fingers crossed, that more is more.

Like AndyMan74 and his wife, I was advised by the receptionist at Knightsbridge that everything should be finished within 72 hours at the latest, and that I'll be called within that timeframe if there's a problem, and to otherwise assume that everything is fine. Assuming I don't hear anything, I will probably call them on Friday regardless, just to be absolutely confident that everything's okay. Still two weeks until my interview, so unless Knightsbridge need anything more, I think we're gonna make it.

AndyMan74

My wife had her interview yesterday and she did a great job BUT her medical had not arrived as Knightsbridge had not posted it to the embassy till the last minute (Thats £300 well spent).Try and make sure they post your medical at least 5 days before interview or else you will be waiting like we are now.

Good Luck

KK85

Another update:

I called Knightsbridge this morning with the hope to confirm that no news had indeed been good news, and was told that everything is finished and my medical is due to be "signed off" today. They said it took them a little longer than usual due to the volume of work required, but a total of 6/7 workings days is pretty speedy in the grand scheme of my US-medical-related adventures, so I'm quite thrilled with that.

Interview is a week today. Now we just have to hope the medical results are sent to the embassy in time to avoid any further delays, a la AndyMan74 and his wife. My poor husband has had yet another death in his family (that's two within six months), and so I'm more keen than ever to just get over there now.

AndyMan74

Nice one

Really glad it worked out for you. My wife's interview was quite straight forward so I'm sure you will ace it. Any questions regarding the interview don't hesitate to ask and good luck.

AndyMan.

KK85

In the interest of remaining conclusive, and so that future forum-browsers don't hit a dead end if they're researching similar situations, I felt I should update this thread to say that my approved medical results arrived at the embassy on the morning of my interview (so seven days after being signed off), and that my visa was approved there and then.

Thank you to everybody who has been such a positive support throughout this process - I hope this thread can offer some reassurance to someone else one day.

Trilo

After a mini breakdown roughly 7+ years ago, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, had councilling and was given anti-depressants (which I never took after reading the label). It only lasted for a few months and I got through it with Buddism meditation, but I think I should bring this part of my life up at the medical also. Due to moving house, my current GP does not have the records regards this issue (I did ask them to look when I was in the surgery last, but they only have what I have been treated for in the current surgery). After reading your post I think I will look into getting my records from my original GP surgery I think to be on the safe side.

Thank you for this post, was very enlightening to see how the process works, also with the drug use side of things, as a teenager I too experimented with a few recreationals, so it's been good to read someone eles experience on this matter.

Rete

Yes, you need to bring this up as you were officially diagnosed by a doctor, given drugs (regardless of whether or not you took them) so it is on your NHS records. Find the doctor that you used back them and see if you can get a copy of your records.

KK85

You're welcome. Very best of luck at your medical! You'd be wise to bring your mental health history up, just in case they request more information on something and find mention of it in your notes - better to be upfront than offer them surprises down the line. I bet you will do absolutely fine.

Trilo

Well I saw my GP today about getting a letter written up regards my medical history when I suffered from anxiety and depression briefly. He said I will need to give him written permission before he can start the process to show that I am asking him to do this on my behalf to get the records from my old surgery and that there will be a fee. So the ball is rolling on getting this done. Was wondering if it was worth getting all of my medical history or just whats needed regards the mental health?

Also, has anybody had any experience going direct to the original surgery for the info and letter? Or does the letter have to be from my current GP surgery to show Knightsbridge?

KK85

I paid £50 to get a copy of my full medical records, which were not required at any point through my immigration journey. I found them a useful reference when it came to understanding what information my GP would be divulging to the Knightsbridge doctors, but that's about it. I'd imagine the only reason for which they might be particularly useful is if you have health issues that you might wish to provide full details about to any doctors you register with in the US.

I went to my current GP, who had never treated me for any mental health issues. She had to go through my full medical records to get a picture of my history, which was time consuming and expensive. It might be cheaper/easier to go back to the GP who treated you, but your current GP should also be able to help. I do not know if it is required that the GP who writes such a letter be your current one. I imagine not. But perhaps someone with better knowledge will be able to advise about that.