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Health

Healthcare

A quick introduction to the UK healthcare system and its most important tools.

Emergency Assistance: 999

Medical Hotline: 111

A local doctor

One of things the UK is most proud of is its National Health Service – the NHS. It was created 70 years ago to make healthcare freely available to everyone and now has over 1.7 million staff, making it the largest employer in the UK. It is funded through taxation.

If you have arrived under the BNO visa, you probably have paid for the Immigration Health Surcharge already and so that you can take full advantage of the NHS services. To register a GP, the best way to do this is to find the nearest GP surgery to where you live and make an appointment to register. You will need some proof of identity and address.

Alternatively, you could pay for private healthcare or take out healthcare insurance. Despite having arguably the world’s best free healthcare system, the UK has many excellent private healthcare providers.

Dentists

There are NHS dentists in most towns, but places are limited and you may be asked to pay for treatment and checkups. If you go to A&E, a walk-in clinic or out-of-hours service, be prepared to wait several hours to be seen.

Coronavirus

Visit the NHS website for advise: nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19
If you have already had doses overseas (e.g. Sinovac), you can find out the vaccination suggestion here: www.unidocs.co.uk

Are you experiencing hate crime?

Hate Crime is really serious and we want you to feel safe in UK, but also equipped to be able to report it. Find out how to do so in this video.