kodokan

Ah yes, that makes sense, if there's anything in the history that might be relevant in the future. Other than vaccinations and usual checks, though, the only time I remember taking one of my kids to a doctor in the UK was for a one-off ear infection at about a year old. Probably not relevant to him now, at nearly 17

petitefrancaise

In our case, it was the lack of problems and absolute normality at an early age which demonstrated that at age 6 there was a problem.

I don't understand why the Brits accept that they do not have access to health records. In France and here in the USA, you keep your own records. It's amazing how brainwashed Brits are by the NHS system. They are YOUR records of YOUR health and may well be needed in the future.

lizzyq

Our sons were 14 & 16 when we were approved for our visas. They both had the first 2 Hep B shots one month apart at our UK GP, free of charge, and the 3rd shot 6 months after moving to the USA. The school district could have refused them continuing in school without the 3rd shot.

penguinsix

I would second the "better safe than sorry" approach of getting your records. If you have had any testing done (such as a blood test) than there is a wealth of information that can be gained by having a "healthy" record of your data vs. a future "unhealthy" set of testing.

Basically, doctors look for outliers in data that are above the norms. You may have a data set come back from at test that is abnormal which is a) an indication there is a problem or b) just the way you are. Having the data from earlier in your life when you are "healthy" is often very good 10-20 years from now for the doctors to start to compare. A baseline set of numbers for you.

Personally, my advice would be to spend the money and get them. If they can give them to you as a digital PDF that's fine too. You'll have a devil of a time getting them later should there be a need.

AZbound

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll pop down to the surgery tomorrow and speak with them again.

ubernathan

Vaccination records are useful for adults too. As part of the GreenCard process you need a medical and certification you've had a certain set of vaccinations. Fortunately, we found a UK-trained doctor who understood how to read NHS records and mark us as having had a bunch of them.

Not to mention that the GP was most appreciative of the records too.

petitefrancaise

The vaccination records are actually fairly easy to manage without. The Drs can just test your blood for antibodies and that is fine for the green card medical. Or you can just go ahead and get them done again. Either way. since it is viewed as "preventive" care most insurances don't make a charge.

MidAtlantic

At my medical they just took my word for which vaccinations I had received.