Hello everyone. How're you? It's the weekend again, so what are you going to do?

As I was saying in the last blog, it is still very cold in London with the occasion sunshine - a lot of my colleagues are not feeling well, coming down with a cold. I want to talk about seeing a doctor here in England because it is very different from what we are used to in China.

When you move over here, one thing that needs to be done as soon as possible is to register with a GP in a local practice. GP stands for general practitioner 全科医师，is a doctor who provides general medical treatment for people who live in a particular area. So people normally go to a practice 诊所that’s close to their homes.

You will receive an NHS (National Health Service 国民医疗体系) card with your NHS number and your GP’s name on it once you register; with that card you will enjoy free health care throughout the UK.

In China we are used to walk into the hospital in the morning or as a matter of fact, any time of the day when we feel unwell without making an appointment. But in England, unless it is an accident or emergency, for which you could just go to A&E (Accidents and Emergency), you’d be expected to ring up the practice that you are registered with and make an appointment with your GP.

Very rarely you’d be seen on the same day, if you want to be seen sooner, you’ll have to explain to the nurse what is wrong with you and they will try to book you in as soon as possible. But remember, if you are really unwell, ask if they can book you within the same day.

An appointment with your GP is usually about 10 minutes. You’d be expected to only talk to your GP about one problem, but if you have more, then you should tell the nurse when you are making the appointment and they will be able to give you a double booking.

If your GP decides you need medication, then he or she will write you a prescription 处方. There is a prescription charge of **7.10 – if you can buy the medication in a pharmacy for less than **7.10, and it is the same one that the doctor has prescribed, then instead of paying the prescription charge, you just pay for the medication.
But some medication has to be prescribed by a doctor, for example antibiotics 抗生素, so in which case you have to pay the prescription charge even if the medication is cheaper than the prescription charge.

If the medication that your doctor has prescribed costs more than **7.10, you still just pay **7.10.

You can go back to your doctor if you are still not feeling well after taking the medication, or sometimes you doctor would book you in for anther appointment to review your illness.

This is very confusing and hopefully I have made this clear for you. Please feel free to ask any questions, I’ll try my best to answer them.

It can be quite a challenge to see a doctor here when you first arrive, but there are plenty of people to help. So stay healthy!

Have a nice weekend!

Best wishes,

Feifei