My two teenagers are flying to the UK on Wednesday and it suddenly occurred to me that I have no idea if they can use the NHS should they need to.

Can they? or do they need travel insurance?
How sad to be so dumb...put it down to age.

For emergencies, yes.

It's not that bad, though... OK I have no experience of needing ER / A&E treatment, however when we were in Essex 2 years ago, hubby put his back out (no smutty remarks, please, nothing to do with nookie being too vigourous ) and he paid GBP 35 for 3 visits to the chiro. The chiro was a huge hulk of an Aussie, on a doc's exchange, and able to crack hubby's back very effectively. He saw him 3 days in a row, and told him to get a doc's appt for the day before we flew, for some nice strong painkillers. We also did that, paid our 20 quid, and got some lovely cheap and very strong painkillers. It's not that bad... at least from our experience, if you don't need ER treatment. Hubby had always been sent by his doc in the US to a physical therapist. I had always been encouraging him to see a chiro, but because that's seen as voodoo by his doc (geeeez! ) then that never happened. Since he saw a chiro (picked out of the Yellow Pages) in Essex 2 years ago, he's not seen a physio in the US, and his back - prone to muscle spasms before - has been 100% better since!







Sorry.... waffling over.

When asked their address ..give a UK one ...

No need. All emergency care is free, irrespective of citizenship or residency.

It might not be an emergency as such ..

They do have their NHS cards..those lovely new laminated ones but I assume that somehow Big Brother will know they don't live there and will have cancelled the card.

I suppose most things that might strike them like ,upset stomach, sore throats etc they wouldn't go to the docs anyway. It would only be in an emergency.
I just took the view that they are going "home" and as such would be able to use all the facilities. This is the hospital they were born in, they would never turn them away!

They'll be fine. I just wish I was going.

The NHS is known for international health tourism. If they're UK citizens they'll be fine.
What are the new NHS cards that you're talking about? Guess OH and I need them. How did you get yours and where?

I thought I read somewhere that you could use the NHS for all services if you had not been gone more than 3 years.

They are small, credit card size things that have your NHS number on. I think you can use them in Europe as well, instead of having to fill in the reciprocal health form. They had only just come out as we were moving here in Oct 2005. They were sent automatically, we didn't have to apply for them.

Our old GP knows we have moved and all our records have been sent to some local health authority archive so I assumed that our cards would have been cancelled in some way.
I have forgotten so much about the small day to day stuff in the UK, like this NHS card etc. It's scary...as I understand more about life here, my UK knowledge diminishes in proportion

Not true. Only residents of the UK may use the NHS for routine and/or non-emergency care.

Anyone, visitors included, will be treated free of charge for emergencies.

I don't think the NHS cards will be cancelled but may be asked where they live and may need to prove they are entitled to care but as previously mentioned if emergency then they should be OK

I think i would get travel insurance to just be on the safe side!

Why? It is not needed for emergency care and wouldn't help with routine care.

This may be the law, but I don't know how thoroughly it is enforced. When I was staying in Manchester with hubs (a little less than six months) I started having this really terrible leg pain and was worried I had developed deep vein thrombosis or something. After suffering for a month, I finally went to A&E at hubs suggestion. They didn't ask for anything other than my name. The doctor found nothing wrong, and sent me home with instructions to just rest it and not walk much.

After that didn't help, and the pain got even worse, to where I couldn't sleep at night, I made an appointment at hubs GP. They did an intake evaluation, a complete physical, and the GP discovered that the leg pain was actually originating in my back (sciatica). She prescribed me anti-inflammatory meds, told me to call back in a few weeks if it wasn't better to start physical therapy, and set me up with an appointment for a pap smear as well!

A few weeks after we returned to the US, my MIL called and said they had just sent her my permanent GP card (or something like that) that shows I was a patient there. I couldn't believe it. I never got a bill.

(now everyone is going to flame me for taking care from the NHS for free!)