How serious is the emergency in Britain? Is it expensive to see a doctor in Britain? The process of seeing a doctor in Britain

It's expensive to see a doctor in America, but it's very tiring to see a doctor in Britain because it's very, very slow here. You don't have to make an appointment in advance for emergency. Some minor illnesses and pains basically suggest that you take care of yourself.

The way and process of seeing a doctor in Britain is very different from that in China. First of all, ordinary chronic diseases and routine physical examinations need to be done a long time in advance. If you see an emergency, you also need to go to different places for treatment, such as a cold, runny nose or mild diarrhea. In Britain, you are generally encouraged to take medicine and rest yourself. If you go to see a doctor, you may have to wait in line for a long time, so everyone should take common medicines.

Brief introduction to the background of British medical system

It is divided into two parts, one is the public medical system-NHS (National Medical Service System), and the other is the private hospital or clinic. Needless to say, the service of private hospitals is good and expensive, and the waiting time is not long, but most private hospitals do not have 24-hour emergency service. Here is a brief introduction to NHS.

First of all, it is "free" for British residents (including students and immigrants with visas for more than 6 months) to see a doctor in hospitals and clinics within the NHS system (not completely free, immigrants have to pay taxes, and students have to pay a visa fee of 150 every year). The welfare benefits are very good, so Britain is also very proud of its NHS system. However, the inefficiency of NHS is often criticized by everyone. Basically, it is a minor illness, and a serious illness will not be vague. For tourists with a visa of less than 6 months, seeing a doctor is not free, and it is not necessarily cheap.

For British residents, everyone needs to register their own general practitioners (general practitioners are similar to our general practitioners), and general practitioners generally treat in places similar to community clinics. British residents can't go directly to the hospital to see a specialist like our country after they get sick. Instead, they need to make an appointment with their general practitioner first. If there is further demand, GP will help to make an appointment with experts. This is the conventional view that the disease is not urgent. If you see an emergency, you need to go to different places for different diseases and different severity. If your life is in danger, you need to go directly to the AE (Accident Emergency Service) of the hospital. For sprains, fractures and other injuries, you should go to the emergency care center, and you can also see a general practitioner for minor illnesses and pains. The minor illness of cold and diarrhea goes directly to AE, and it is very likely that no one cares.

Introduction to British first aid

For tourists, emergency is the most important, and no appointment is needed. Let's talk about the classification of emergency services in Britain:

Severe coma, massive hemorrhage, severe dyspnea, heart attack, etc.

AE (Accident Emergency Service) provides 24-hour emergency service to treat patients with sudden serious illness or serious trauma. In addition, ordinary emergency patients will see a doctor at night, and the order of medical treatment follows the principle of "who comes first, who sees first" and the same situation (the situation is not serious) comes first. Therefore, ordinary emergency patients are likely to have long-term AE queues.

You can call an ambulance at this number.

The situation is not serious. -Cold, fever, burns, cuts, sprains, vomiting, diarrhea, allergies, etc.

GP general practitioner clinic is generally open from 8 am to 6 pm from Monday to Friday, but it may be different in different places. Some also provide emergency services at night. I suggest you check it before you go. Generally speaking, it is necessary to make an appointment to see a general practitioner, but it is said that every general practitioner will reserve some working time for emergency patients without an appointment.

The walk-in emergency department of the walk-in center is generally longer than the general GP clinic, and it closes at 8: 00 or 9: 00 at night.

The emergency center can handle some minor injuries, such as fractures, sprains, burns, infections and so on.

Minor injury units can handle simple trauma.

Pharmacy Pharmacy Generally speaking, symptoms such as colds are not so serious. You can also consult the pharmacist in the pharmacy. Go to the boots. You can buy over-the-counter drugs directly. You need a prescription from a general practitioner or a doctor to buy it.

[Telephone number for medical assistance: 1 1] If you are not sure whether you need to go to the emergency department temporarily, or want to find a nearby GP clinic or a walk-in center, you can call11for help. Operators are trained to provide medical guidance by describing your condition. Great, there is a Chinese translation. Don't worry about language problems and professional medical vocabulary. Just tell the operator that you need to communicate in Chinese.

In addition, it should be noted that if the cold and fever are not very serious, generally British doctors will not prescribe antibiotics. Maybe most of the suggestions are. Drink some hot water. And if it's not serious, there will probably be a long queue. Therefore, for reducing fever, the general clinic is likely to take physical cooling, such as letting you take off your clothes and lie down, and sometimes blowing a fan at it, which is very different from our own way of reducing fever. Parents with children should be mentally prepared.

Here are some publicity maps made in Britain about how people should go to different emergency departments according to their own situation. Post it to help you better understand ~ ~ In short, Britain aims to encourage people to make more rational use of national medical resources, so that people can get treatment more efficiently when they go to the right place ~

Which patients are not suitable for AE emergency department as shown below?

The following figure shows the corresponding treatment for this disease.

British emergency expenses

(The following information is only applicable to students with short-term visas of less than 6 months. )

1. First of all, the official statement on tourism emergency fee information is as follows.

# When overseas tourists require non-emergency medical treatment or treatment that is not immediately needed, it is up to the primary health care provider to decide where to accept this person as a national health service patient or a private patient. (For the emergency level, it depends on whether the doctor decides to charge. )

# According to the General Practitioner's Terms of Service, doctors are required to provide free treatment immediately due to accidents or other emergencies within their scope of practice. (In the case of a very urgent level, in the spirit of humanitarianism, first of all, free rescue)

The official statement is rather vague. Although the latter statement is free, but the subsequent hospitalization, medication, etc. There is still a charge. I have checked some cases, and the most basic main cost of staying in hospital for one night is about 200 pounds, plus medicine and examination fees. About six or seven hundred pounds a night. In another case, the elderly at home have had a heart attack for several days, and the routine examination takes about two or three kilograms. For other diseases, it is generally around 200-300. But there are also cases where the clinic is completely free.

How do you know how much you want to spend in the hospital? Because medical care for British residents is free, many doctors don't really know how much a certain examination or medication will cost. You can consult the payment department of the hospital and ask GP directly in the outpatient department.

4. Pay first or treat first: in case of emergency, first rescue, then ask your domestic address, and finally send you the bill; Other less urgent circumstances may require payment in advance; If you don't have enough money at that time, you can write a guarantee statement and pay the money later. In this case, you can also see a doctor first.

About overseas travel insurance

1. It is recommended to buy. After all, 1 1. 1 10,000 is still very painful to see a doctor.

2. When you are in the hospital, you must remember to call the insurance company in advance and ask what proof materials you need and what precautions you need. Otherwise, if there are any shortcomings, the money is likely to be wasted.