brissybee

End of March next year has firmed as our intention to return to UK.

All coming to plan, we will have met visa requirements for Aussie husband to live and work in the UK and it looks like dear family and friends will ensure we have at least an initial address and possibly even a car.

Now we're considering our options for health care. It would seem I don't yet have an NHS number (as left the UK as a teen) and will therefore apply when there. However, I wonder if this means I will have to be there a full year before I can use NHS. Will Aussie husband have access to NHS if he has his spouse visa?

We're not looking to be health tourists, just everyday folk going about our lives.

Can anyone who has made the return trip already please advise what we can expect regarding health cover?

Englishmum

You DO have an NHS number (which is different to a National Insurance Number aka NINO; now these are usually issued at the age of 16. I suspect you don't have a NINO if you left as a teen).

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

National Health Numbers are issued in the UK at birth - your medical records as a child will be classed as 'dormant' and in a storage facility somewhere....perhaps you can find out who/where your family doctor's practice was when you lived in the UK, but it should not prevent you being able to register with a new practice when you move to the UK.

http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx

Your spouse - as a legal entrant to reside in the UK - will be allowed to use the NHS immediately, and of course you will do as a returning British citizen with the intention to reside permanently in the UK .

Also check out: http://www.gov.uk

Hope this helps!

sallysimmons

The practice will find your NHS number when you go there for the first time. They found mine no problem and I'd been gone 22+ years.

Englishmum

How to register with a doctor in the UK:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1095.asp...CategoryID=158

brissybee

Thank-you Englishmum and Sally... the advice and links are very helpful.

One thing that really does concern me about the NHS is whether there is much of a choice of Dr once you have registered with a surgery.

And if you do register... can you still go somewhere else or register somewhere else if you don't like where you are?

I also wonder if most NHS doctors readily refer to a specialist (of your choice?) if required?

Where I am now, there are Doctor's I barely trust to write a prescription, let alone treat something serious... but there is the option to pick and choose.

Maybe in the UK it is a case of you get what you get with the NHS or you pay for exactly what you want if you go privately?

Editha

Once you register with a surgery you can usually choose which doctor to see, as long as you don't mind waiting until an appointment is available. For anything else, it is a question of who is available.

Here in Canada, I always see "my" doctor unless it is urgent and she isn't available. It's not like that in the UK. My mother has to wait up to 3 weeks to see "her" doctor, or just accept that she sees whoever is on duty. You may not even see a doctor at all, if your problem is something that can be dealt with over the phone.

You can change surgeries, but how much choice there is depends on the area, it is easier in a city to the country where there may be only one surgery in a village. You won't find private GPs in most places, although NHS GPs may offer private services.

Study the NHS website for more information.

quoll

I suspect there may be differences in surgeries. As a family can usually get a same day appointment with our doctors if we call early in the morning, they all seem to have a quota of daily slots and even if we have missed and my mum (especially) needs it they have bent over backwards to accommodate her. I really like the online booking and prescription renewal that many surgeries now use - sure it has sometimes taken me a week to hit on appointment time that I can fit in (my problem!) where my doctor is free but that was true of Aus as well. They do like you to be local because (according to my doc) they don't like to have to travel too far to do home visits which is understandable.

Once you have registered with a surgery you can use any doc there - until you find one you want to stick with I guess. We've been very lucky with our choices of doctors I must say.

mikelincs

In a group surgery, and they are almost all group surgeries now, you will be allocated a doctor, however if you specifically want to see that doctor, then you will have to wait till they are on duty and have a spare appointment spot, otherwise you will just have to see one of the others in the practice, if, for some reason you find you don't get on with one of the doctors, you can specifcally ask for an appointment with a different doctor. You should have an NHS number somewhere, they were at one time allocated with your first appointment with a doctor once you were not classed as a baby. The system has now changed are they are now issued at birth.

scot47

I am rergistered at the local Healt Practice. There are 6 GPs plus locums. When I phone,. I am allocated any doctor weho is available. If I want to see a specific doctor I may have to wait for a day or two. NHS is so much better than the set-up in Saudi !

aries

Continuity of care at my local medical practice has been poor. Usually I need to see a doctor on the day I phone, and because of this I have seen 5 or 6 doctors a number of times.

A particular doctor that I've seen the most and who is considered to be my GP by the hospital, to-day cancelled an appointment I have with him for important changes to my medications as recommended by my cardiologist, instead I see another doctor on Monday. According to the receptionist who phoned me it is for continuity of care! Apparently I'm at high risk of having a stroke yet they play musical GPs with me?

Gillymonkey

It really does depend on the practice. There was one doctor I visited often for a while and I would always just specifically ask for an appt with her, this did mean sometimes waiting. I only did this for one particular issue for anything generic I'd happily go to anyone else.

My old practice was brilliant, I couldn't fault them and was really sad to switch to the US system.

brissybee

I am relieved to hear I should have a NHS no. out there somewhere and like others would probably have a preferred GP but would see others for generic matters.

I find it disturbing that genuine British expats (who have developed foreign accents) are being given short shrift by some medical receptionists... but enough of that here... there's another thread going on the new NHS rules.

Anyhow, thank-you for all who have taken the trouble to respond to this thread. Good advice is always appreciated.

DaveLovesDee

Current rules on access to the NHS for everyone.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/englan...rom_abroad.htm

rebeccajo

.........caveat......we don't know when the government will put rules in place regarding immigrant access to the NHS. But since brissy's plans are not immediate, there is a possibility her husband might have to pay a levy for access to the NHS. These things all take time and Parliament might not have legislated the changes before her husband files for his visa. But they also want to score points with voters. So this could move quickly.

*and I'm sure Dave knows all this, which is why he said "current" rules for NHS access*

DaveLovesDee

Yeah, I was at a meeting where the Government's representative said the current system had to change. The BMA representative said there was a danger than even a minor change will cost more than it saves.