General questions.

Question/situation 1:

I'm registered with a GP in Derby where I live with my boyfriend.  I'm moving back into halls in September.  I don't want to go to the GP for a check up because I'm very busy with uni, potential work, etc.  It's not worth my time and it's really out of the way to get there.  They've been calling me up asking if I can come in for an appointment, but I really don't feel any desire to go.  I'm switching to the health centre at Uni, which is going to be loads easier to get to and which will be more convenient for me as a student.  I'm doing that switch in September. 

Also, when I come home for the summer to visit, my mom already had a check up with my GP back in the US registered for me.  She knows about my anemia and my vitamin deficiencies and I'm really comfortable going to her rather than having to go through the whole schpeal with somebody who I'm not even going to be seeing a few months from now.

I want to call the GP in Derby and just say that I'm not going to be going in (ever) and that I'm going to be switching in September so I don't need things sent to my place of residence and I don't really want to be called.  Is it really difficult to switch GPs?  I've never visited this one in Derby and I don't intend on it.  I can definitely have a spot at the one at Uni so I'm not worried about that.  Is it difficult to switch though?

Question/situation 2:

I want to see the gynocologist.  Why?  Because I like seeing my gyno yearly back in the US and I like feeling that I've had a thorough check up and that everything is okay.  Is this even covered by the NHS?  I've been talking to female friends at Uni and none of them have ever been to a gyno.  None of them.  They were kind of shocked at the idea and wondered why it was even necessary for an 18 year old to go see one.  Am I better off just going to one in the US or actually attempting to see one here?  Do women actually go to gynos or do they just go to their GPs?

1 - yes, it's very very easy to switch as long as you live in the area covered by the GP you wish to see. If you don't want to be registered or contacted anymore by the old GP, ring them and say you're moving and want them to take you off of their register. They can send any records they hold on you back to the Primary Care Agency to be stored until you register elsewhere.

2 - you could get things checked out at your GP or you could go to a GUM clinic (you're in Nottingham, yes? http://www.drthom.com/sexual_health_clinic/East%20Midlands/Nottingham)

 

In the UK, a gynecologist is only for women with medical problems, which is why it would be rare for someone under 20 to have seen one. Regular check-ups and smears (and birth control prescriptions) will be done by your GP or at a women's health clinic.

I personally prefer this situation, as I do have medical problems and in the US I always had to wait ages for appointments behind women getting pap smears, birth control prescriptions, or checkups for normal, healthy low-risk pregnancies.