How much is the emergency in Britain? Is it expensive to see 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. Generally, it is not an emergency to make an appointment in advance for a long time. Some minor illnesses and pains are basically recommended to take care of themselves.

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 in advance. If you see an emergency, you need to go to different places, such as a cold, a runny nose or a slight diarrhea. In Britain, you are generally encouraged to take medicine and rest yourself. If you go to see a doctor, you will probably 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 health care system-NHS (National Medical Service System), and the other is the private hospital or clinic. Needless to say, private hospitals are expensive and the waiting time is not long, but most private hospitals do not have 24-hour emergency services. The following is mainly about NHS.

First of all, it is "free" for British residents (including students with visas for more than 6 months, and immigrants) 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 a 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 may not be 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. After British residents get sick, they can't go directly to the hospital to see a specialist like our country. They need to make an appointment with their own general practitioners first. If there is further demand, the general practitioner will help to make an appointment with an expert. This is the traditional view that the disease is not very urgent. If you see an emergency, you need to go to different places according to different diseases and severity. If you need to go directly to the hospital to see AE (accidental emergency service, sprain, fracture and other injuries), you can see GP for minor illnesses and pains. Go directly to AE for a minor illness like cold and diarrhea, and it is very likely that no one will take care of you. Introduction to British first aid

For tourists, urgency is the most important thing, and no reservation is needed. Let's talk about the classification of emergency departments in Britain:

The situation is very serious-coma, massive bleeding, severe dyspnea, heart attack, etc.

AE (Accident Emergency Service 24) 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 seeing a doctor follows the principle of "who comes first" and "who comes first" in the same situation (the situation is not serious), so it is very likely that ordinary emergency patients will wait in line for a long time for AE.

Emergency number: 999. You can call an ambulance at this number.

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

GP general practitioners' clinics are generally open from 8: 00 am to 6: 00 pm from Monday to Friday, but it may be different in different places, and some of them also provide night emergency services. 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.

Walk-inCenters make free appointments for emergency treatment. Generally speaking, it will take longer than the ordinary GP clinic, and it will not close until eight or nine in the evening.

The emergency nursing center handles some minor injuries, such as fractures, sprains, burns, infections, etc.

MinorInjuriesUnits can handle simple trauma.

Generally speaking, pharmacies are not as serious as colds and other symptoms. You can also consult the pharmacist in the pharmacy and go directly to Boots. All over-the-counter drugs can be bought directly. Prescription drugs can only be bought if they are prescribed by GP or a doctor.

Medical assistance telephone number: 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 Walk-inCentre, you can call11for help. After training, the operators can give medical guidance through the description of your illness. It's great to have a Chinese translator. You don't have to worry about language problems and professional medical vocabulary, just explain to the operator that you need to communicate in Chinese.

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

The following are some publicity pictures made in Britain about how people should go to different emergency departments according to their own conditions, and post them to help them better understand ~ ~ In short, the British side aims to advocate that people can make more rational use of national medical resources and get treatment more efficiently while going to the right place ~

The following picture shows which patients are not suitable for AE emergency.

The following figure shows the corresponding treatment methods for symptoms.

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 about tourists' first aid charges is as follows.

# When a person requests non-emergency medical treatment, it is up to the primary health care provider to decide whether to accept the person as an emergency if it is not very necessary. (Non-emergency level, whether to charge or not depends on the doctor's decision.

# Under the service of general practitioners, doctors need immediate treatment in cases they think are urgent. (In a very urgent situation, in the spirit of humanitarianism, first rescue for free.

The official statement is rather vague. Although the latter statement is free, there is still a charge for subsequent hospitalization and medication. I've checked some cases, and the most basic main cost for one night in hospital is about -200+, plus six or seven hundred pounds for medicine and examination, which is very likely. In another case, the whole rescue and routine examination of the elderly at home for a few days is about two or three thousand pounds. For other diseases, it is generally around -200-300. But there are also cases where the clinic is completely free.

3. How do you know how much you want to spend in the hospital? Since medical treatment is free for British residents, many doctors are actually not very clear about the cost of a certain examination or medication. You can consult the payment department of the hospital, and if you go out of the clinic, just ask GP directly.

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

About overseas travel insurance

1, recommended to buy. After all, seeing a doctor is still very painful.

2.1111needs to be out of danger. When you are in the hospital, you must remember to call the insurance company in advance to ask what proof materials are needed and what matters need attention. Otherwise, it is likely to waste the money.