Prescription Costs

how long is your student visa for?  over or under 6 months?

Over 6 months. Until Jan 2008

Right, so I just phoned the surgery to follow up. The reason they were calling the PCT is was to see if I was eligible for free prescriptions. I told her I never asked for a free prescription, I just wanted to pay the same amount as someone else on the NHS was going to pay. She asked if I had said that to the doctor when I was in the room with him. No, because he was talking so fast and not really listening to me that I didn't realize I had to make a distinction. He basically said free prescription or he gave me the private rate. Why would he even consider giving me the free rate when I'm clearly not eligible for it?? I told him I was here as a student for over a year! I'm sorry...thanks for listening. Perhaps this is why I put off registering for so long since I knew it would go this way!

He probably just wanted to make sure that you weren't entitled to the same discounts that UK national students are.

Vicky

can you change drs within your surgery ?  or change surgeries?  a dr who speaks too fast, you don't fully understand, is not a good thing.

No one ever called me, so yesterday I called the surgery and the receptionist saw my prescription on the screen, told me she'd call it in to the pharmacy and have it filled. I picked it up this morning and I paid 6.60 for it. Excellent. I just got a call from the doctor's secretary and she told me that she spoke with the PCT and I would have to have private insurance for it. The prescription should have cost me 150 pounds! I kept saying that I didn't understand why, as I'm here for over a year on a student visa meaning I'm entitled to NHS benefits. She said I should have private traveler's insurance. Yesterday I looked it up, I thought, on either the Home Office or Department of Health websites and it said if you're here over a year on a student visa you're eligible for the NHS. She told me I should print that out and bring it in as I'll have a problem having it filled again on the NHS. Of course, now I can't find the page I viewed yesterday! Can anyone point me to one? And most important, am I wrong in thinking I'm eligible for the NHS??

can you change drs within your surgery ?  or change surgeries?  a dr who speaks too fast, you don't fully understand, is not a good thing.

I'll request to see a different doctor next time. There are a few within my surgery that I can try out.

Here you go:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/International/OverseasVisitors/Browsable/DH_4955467

It's sad when you have to smack them in the head with the rules.

Excellent! This is the page I was looking at yesterday. Thanks so much Tanis!

I took a print out of this website and a copy of the page in my international student handbook that states I'm eligible for primary care on the NHS to my GP today. I showed it to the doctor's secretary (unfortunately not the one that called on Friday). I still don't think she believed me, but she said she'd put that in the doctor's box.   

Bmore ... just a thought ... isn't there a student health service where you are studying? They are probably more used to dealing with people on visas.

Unfortunately, no. We're so small that they only have health services available very infrequently and I think you have to go over to the other campus. If this still doesn't work, I'll switch to the GP where my American course mate goes. She has no problems with them.