Gloriajean

Hi. Moving back to UK from Canada wondering about health care NHS. How do I apply I am a British Citizen. Thank You in advance

Pulaski

All you need to do is register with a GP.

As you are returning to the UK to live, you are automatically covered from the moment you step off the plane.

Siouxie

I've moved your post to our 'Moving Back or to the UK' forum, as the members in here will be able to give you up to date information

Good luck with your move!

BristolUK

Best to make sure there are steps there though. Or one of those corridor thingies.

durham_lad

Just walk into the GP offices you want to use and ask to register. When I did this I was given a form to complete and I also booked an appointment for the following week so I could take in my bottle of prescription pills to show the GP. At the appointment she asked what I was taking them for, a short examination and then said well that’s exactly what we prescribe for that as well. I walked out with a repeat prescription.

Pulaski

Don't worry about that, the NHS will be there to pick, or scrape you up.

robin1234

Even the ambulance is free! *

*For our resident pedants/trolls; the term of art “free” means free at point of service, paid for by the taxpayer.

Brightongirl

Are waiting lists really a bad a I've heard? For a knee replacement for example. I just had knee surgery and may need a knee replacement due to arthritis. I was wondering if I should try to persuade my doctor here to do it before I move, while I still have private insurance?

Cynic

Waiting Lists? Right now, nobody knows for certain. The press is forecasting problems (no surprise there) the NHS is reporting a shortage of "normal" patients since COVID19, we have adverts on the TV telling people to get back in contact with their GP/outpatient department My wife (NHS nurse) tells me it's very quiet at work; somewhere in between is the answer. Waiting lists were a fact of life pre-COVID, there has been no magic wand, so my advice would be if the surgery is necessary and you can get it done before you move to the UK, then do it.

Brightongirl

Sometimes I forgot we're living in a Covid world with patients not being comfortable with surgeries at the moment! Thanks for the perspective.

Brightongirl

I'm really feeling my age lately! I went to my US doctor yesterday because I've been experiencing a few issues and was referred to a cardiologist because my resting heart rate has been increasing over the past 6 months and I've been feeling dizzy plus other symptoms. I'm probably jumping the gun here with my question because I haven't seem the specialist yet but I experience anxiety so I tend to worry excessively.

I'm so used my health insurance in the US and things always seem to go smoothly. If your GP refers you to a specialist you pick someone your insurance covers and can usually get an appointment within a few weeks. The quality of care seems good, my co-pays are low and the quality of doctors seems good. (The only drawback is the high annual premium.)

I plan to return to the in just over a year. My worry is that as my health issues have increased with age -- arthritis in my knees, a torn meniscus, anxiety & depression to name a few -- (and now potentially heart related), will the NHS able to meet demands as people feel comfortable returning to their GP's/hospitals, can you easily get appointments to see a specialist without having to plead and be on long wait-lists, what's the state of psychiatric services and will I be able to get the psychotropic medications which I currently take? I've now lived in the US for almost 35 years and had little need for healthcare when I lived in the UK because I was too young. But I'm scared of leaving this good health care system behind for the unknown, and a system for which I haven't heard many positives. (From friends and relatives in the UK.)

I'd love opinions on how people feel about the state of the NHS, how it was pre-covid, where you expect to see it in a few years - especially from people using or in the system. I admire the health care workers and how they dedicate their lives to their profession so this question is geared towards the system itself and by no means a knock on the workers. Thank you.

christmasoompa

I can’t fault the NHS. Whether it’s my daughter being born with a disability (a week in a private room after the birth at no cost then a physio that came to the house twice weekly for a year), my fathers Parkinson’s and heart failure, or my mothers breast cancer (diagnosed on a Thursday, operated on a Monday), or my husband in a hit and run accident and needing plastic surgery, it’s always been amazing. My daughter had an infected wound after an accident last year, we turned up to a packed A&E and she was assessed immediately and then taken straight through to see a doctor, total wait time about 4 minutes.

No problem ever signing up to a NHS dentist, and always got a doctors appointment same day, in all 5 places I’ve ever lived in the UK.

So no complaints from me, but as you can see from the above, we’ve never needed routine care (we don’t like to things by halves in my family ). Something more minor than suspected septicaemia may well have meant an hour or two’s wait in A&E. A routine op needed could mean lengthy waiting lists. From my experience, anything major and you won’t have to wait.

Private healthcare could be an option to look into for more routine stuff maybe?

SanDiegogirl

Most people think the NHS is wonderful and I agree. If you have something seriously wrong with you - heart attack, cancer, stroke, etc - you are whisked in and treated; without worrying about how much it is going to cost you.

But, as an NPR program showed recently, and as some of my UK friends have noted, elected surgeries have long wait list - one pal waited 18 months for a knee surgery. ( I used to work in the NHS and it has usually been like this for years).

While in my area in SoCal - lots of retirees - you might wait 3 months to get in to see a knee specialist, once that is over it would be only a further 3 months to get the surgery; and as you say, depending on your health plan, you can pick your doctor and pick your hospital

ALL my pals in the UK have a private health insurance top up (e.g. BUPA) to get that treatment which is not going to kill you, but is mighty painful and debilitating if you have to wait 18 months to get fixed.

No doubt, that health care would be a deciding factor if hubby and I ever really looked at moving back.

Cynic

LOL - you're not my wife are you? I joke; she has similar heart issues, diagnosed as palpitations; she had a heart attack 10 years ago which resulted in her having stents put in, was done overnight and she was back home 2 days later; the palpitations are down to her getting older.

The NHS is what you make of it; I have no complaints, it's there when I need it. Never had any problem getting appointments or medications (they even deliver to your house nowadays).

They have been magnificent during COVID, some of them have paid the ultimate price of their dedication.

All the above is said within the background of my wife being a nurse at our GP surgery, so what I get may not reflect reality for the majority; an experienced nurse gets as good as a doctor when it comes to diagnostics; many are now in such roles.

Brightongirl

Well for sure your family doesn't do things by halves! Thank you for sharing your personal stories and I hope your loved ones are recovering. I don't think we'd be able to afford private healthcare but worth looking into down the road just in case. That's very reassuring about emergency medical care! Health care workers are such incredible people! Thanks christmasoompa - very much appreciated.