NHS and Non NHS Fees

Accessing Health Care in the NHS

The National Health Service or NHS is the name of the healthcare system in England which is funded by a general taxation system. Almost all services are free at the point of access for those eligible to be registered with the service. The NHS provides healthcare to anyone ordinarily resident in the UK (this means you intend to live in the UK for a minimum of 6 months). If you are unsure of your status please ask a member of our team at Reception. Even if you are eligible to be registered with the NHS for primary care services this may not cover secondary care at hospitals if you have not been living in the UK for more than 12 months so please check directly with the hospital concerned.

Further information for international students can be found at http://www.camstudenthealth.co.uk/pages/category/international-students//eligibility-for-healthcare.

The NHS is based on a primary and secondary care structure. Your GP is part of the primary care team which also includes practice nurses, health care assistants, district nurses, midwives and health visitors for children. If you are ill or believe yourself to be ill your GP surgery is often the first port of call although NHS direct can also be an excellent source of information www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or 08 45 46 47 .

Not all medical problems may need to be dealt with by a GP directly and we at Bridge Street Medical Centre will advise you who the best suited health care professional will be to help you. If you are able to give our receptionist an idea of the problem they can often direct you to the best appointment. Please remember that all the Medical Centre team respect the confidentiality of all patients. If in doubt please do ask as we are always happy to advise!

Secondary (or speciaist) care in hospitals is available for all medical problems that cannot be dealt with directly by your GP. This is accessed via your GP although you will be able to directly self refer to some departments such as the Emergency Department (also known as A&E or Accident & Emergency) and the Genito-Urinary Clinic. Please remember that referrals onto Secondary care by your GP are based on clinical need and not just on request. There are often alternatives to referral to specialists and if this is the case your GP will explain this to you.

There are certain services that are not free such as some dental and optician care. There are also services within the practice that are not free – please see the link on non NHS fees or ask at Reception.

Whilst seeing your primary care team is free in all countries of the United Kingdom for anyone eligible to use the NHS, charges for prescription-only medicines vary. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have abolished all charges. In England, however, adults over 16 (or 18 in full time education) and under 60 who are not receiving benefits have to pay a standard charge. for prescription-only medicines. This is £7.40 per item from April 2011 payable directly to the pharmacy. For further information please see: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

Overseas patients

If you are from overseas and are not eligible for NHS care we are still happy to see you for medical care but there will be a standard charge. Please ask at Reception for a list of our charges.

Zero tolerance

Along with NHS policy, the medical centre is unable to tolerate members of the public being verbally or physically threatening towards practice staff. It may be appropriate, after discussion, to ask a patient to register with an alternative practice