Work Visa/NHS/Pre-Existing Condition/etc etc

So I've tried to read through these threads and I do feel a bit better but I think I just want to be clear about the NHS and treatment and all...

So I'll be on a work visa, which I know entitles me to NHS coverage.  My employer also provides private medical insurance, but this excludes pre-existing conditions. 

So I guess where I'm not positive is once I arrive in the UK and have an address, I can register with a GP and get referred to a gastroenterologist, whom I could see for annual check-up visits and to be prescribed medications (which I hope are available over there!)?  And how does one go about getting prescribed birth control pills - does that come from the GP or the ob-gyn?  All under the NHS?

Sorry about the jumble of questions there.  I just want to make sure I am covered for all my medical needs.  I am doing my  best to see all doctors over here in the US before I go so I am good for a while, but will need to get it sorted once I am settled in London!  Thanks 

The NHS should cover everything in terms of doctor's appointments, emergency room treatment, other hospital treatment, prescriptions, birth control etc. and should normally be your first port of call in all cases. There's no such thing as having 'pre-existing conditions' on the NHS because it covers all the treatment you need for every medical condition you've ever had, for the entire time you are in the UK, all for free (well, you pay for it out of your taxes).

Birth control is free to all (including visitors who don't have free access to NHS treatment) and you can either get it from your NHS doctor, or you can go to a Family Planning Clinic and get it there. It doesn't really matter, as it's free either way.

Generally, private coverage is only really useful for getting things done faster or for accessing rarer drugs/treatment that are too expensive to be covered on the NHS, or for elective surgeries that are not offered through the NHS. For example, if there's a waiting time of a few weeks or months for an operation or to see a specialist, you can skip the waiting time by 'going private'. Often you will see the same surgeon or doctor or specialist using the private coverage as you would have on the NHS, but it will be done more quickly.

For example, both my grandmother and my godmother needed hip replacements. My grandmother had it done for free on the NHS and got the operation within 3 months. My godmother paid for private treatment and had the operation within a couple of weeks. I think they both had the same surgeon.

Usually though, if you want to use your private insurance, you need to go through an NHS GP first and then get a referral through them for private treatment.

If you bring your US medical records with you, you should be able to register with a GP and get a referral, although you may find there are long-ish waiting times for appointments on the NHS, which is when private insurance can come in handy if you are able to use it for them.

We have Cigna International coverage through my husband's employer, and self refer to specialists at the private hospital convenient to our home.

I have had a skin cancer removed in the US and my derm advised getting a "full body" check every six months for two years and then annually.  I presented my records to my (NHS) GP here and she said they would only examine me if I came in with a concern about a specific mole or whatever.  If the GP thought it dodgy they would send me to a consultant dermatologist.  She did send me anyway because of a mole on my leg (which the US derm had already seen and judged benign) but the consultant would only look at that (and agreed it was not of concern).  I believe going privately might cost thousands (no insurance)

Going privately to see the dermatologist at BMI Chertsey, our local private hospital, costs £200 for an initial consultation, and less thereafter.

It can be beneficial to visit a specialist at their private practice and, if you need treatment, they will then add you to their NHS list. This can bypass any wait to see an NHS specialist which, depending on where you live, could be lengthy.

I think I'm about to embark of the private healthcare thing myself. I'm on allergy immunotherapy here and I'll be trying to continue it in Cardiff. I've already ailed with a private hospital who does it and have been told it's £150 for the initial consultation and £100 per month thereafter for my regular injections.  Even now my co pay in the US came to at least $40 a month for those. So it's not an absolutely terrible increase for going to completely uninsured.

Interesting, Fruitgum.  There is no BMI hospital in Leeds (the nearest would require a good bus ride).  There seemed to be only one consultant dermatologist who had an interest in skin inspections, so I don't know ...