PLEASE HELP ME////I need urgent advice

I am a student who recently graduated from school here in the U.K.
Not to long after I finished school, I have been diagnosed with a prolapsed disc in my back. My student visa expires in late November, so I will have NHS coverage until then. I've been referred to a back pain specialist who can request MRIs or other specific things, etc. I might even be eligible to extend my student visa another 6 months but wouldn't be able to work or have recourse to public funds.

I get kicked out of my residence hall a week from Sunday -- but I have friends in Oxford who are willing to let me stay there until my visa expires. If need be physiotherapist said I would be able to get transferred from the specialist I've been seeing in London to a specialist in Oxford. I don't know how long it will take for this to heal or if I will need surgery.

My question is:

Do I go back home to the United States ASAP, take up my own health insurance plan, or somehow get on unemployment/disability and then try to get this back business taken care of, or do I try to stay here for as long as i can and try to treat my back and then go home?

Please help. I don't know what to do.  :\\\'(

Things to consider....

1.)  How long are the NHS waiting lists for treatment.  Very well could be way past your Visa expiration (november).


2.)  As a student - have you worked?  Paid in any taxes to the NHS?  If not - do you really think you are eligible for NHS services?  (as a taxpayer this gets a little bit under my skin)

3.)  If you go back to the US - how difficult is it for you to function.  I don't know what a prolapsed disc is so I have no idea if you are in pain.  If you can get a job that doesn't cause you any pain, why not wait until you get settled with health insurance and then go to the Dr in the US.  They won't have your records from the UK, so it wouldn't necessarily be deemed "pre-existing" and you would probably get treatment just as quickly, through legitimate channels.

If you start treatment that you are entitled to on your student visa then I think that treatment will continue past the expiration of your student visa...but you MUST make an application to extend your stay, as a visitor, before your current visa expires.

Vicky

2.)  As a student - have you worked?  Paid in any taxes to the NHS?  If not - do you really think you are eligible for NHS services?  (as a taxpayer this gets a little bit under my skin)

All international students in the UK who are there on a visa lasting more than 6 months are eligible for any and all NHS treatment, whether they've worked or not.

Yes, but knowing that you haven't contributed to what could be considered an ailing system, at the expense of other tax payers?  Prolonging your stay just to get health treatment?  I understand you're a student and you need emergency one time treatment to save your life, fine.  But ongoing treatment such as MRI's for which old british people wait months for?  I find it hard to imagine taking resources away from those who have paid in their whole life if you haven't contributed. 

What are you planning on doing when you go back? Are you going to be looking for a job or what?  How were you planning to get insurance once you get back?

Yes, but knowing that you haven't contributed to what could be considered an ailing system, at the expense of other tax payers?  Prolonging your stay just to get health treatment?  I understand you're a student and you need emergency one time treatment to save your life, fine.  But ongoing treatment such as MRI's for which old british people wait months for?  I find it hard to imagine taking resources away from those who have paid in their whole life if you haven't contributed. 

Having said all that - expats here can get free birth control on a fiance' visa - but they cannot work.

Swings & round-abouts - if her visa allows her free medical, even if she hasn't worked, she's entitled to it - whether or not people think it's wrong.

The other issue for the OP - is that going back to the USA - it's a pre-exsisting condition - so it wouldn't be covered (most likely).

(just for the record - if she's entitled under her visa - I don't think it's wrong).

the chief prob would be finding a means to support oneself if you cannot work.  but maybe that's not an issue for you - but then, if it's not, then getting healthcare in the States wouldn't be, either.   

i just dunno!

good luck.

Yes, but knowing that you haven't contributed to what could be considered an ailing system, at the expense of other tax payers?  Prolonging your stay just to get health treatment?  I understand you're a student and you need emergency one time treatment to save your life, fine.  But ongoing treatment such as MRI's for which old british people wait months for?  I find it hard to imagine taking resources away from those who have paid in their whole life if you haven't contributed. 

Just the thought that there is circular logic in there...  I am assuming we don't plan to send everyone under the age of 18 to work so that they are contributing their fair share of taxes, or that penalize families who have more then their fair allotment of children sucking up valuable resources.  What about the physically disabled, drop them off the roles, because they are not contributing?

Don't forget, technically it is not getting medical care for free, it is the entitlement not to pay/get billed for medical care.

It is really a shame that someone living in the modern world has to figure out a way to be healthy and contribute to society by making a choice between staying in the UK and returning to an uncertain future in the US by not being covered.  That is pretty scary thought in my book.

A logical assumption is that an 18 year old british person would be staying in their home country for a large portion of their life and thus paying into the system that helped them.

Disabled - every society has the responsibility to look after their sick, elderly and disabled.  There are programs in the US which take care of people who need it.  There are programs in the UK that do the same.  The UK just at the moment has what can be deemed by some as a better system.  But should countries like the UK be expected to foot the bill for medical care of people which are not it's own citizens or tax paying residents, just because they have a socialised health system. 

I think the theory on which the NHS is built is fantastic.  I feel like it is a system that with the right resources and management could provide proper healthcare for generations to come.  As it stands now, it is under incredible strain and probably won't be around for the next generation.  That is sad to think this sort of care won't be available to those who deserve it becuase of the current abuse.

I guess when it comes down to it, I just don't understand a sense of entitlement. 

I guess when it comes down to it, I just don't understand a sense of entitlement. 

me either... but that's just our upbringing Karin. In my work, I hear this word every single day. It irks me silently. Resources are limited so to stretch the pot, we call it eligibility. Yes it bothers me when I enter council homes with flat screen TVs, cable, hardwood floors, leather couches and neither parent works (but one or both could) and expects the council to foot the bill for whatever childminding or holiday they want.

sorry burgy76, back pain is horrible and should be treated where possible. If you are legally eligible here, try to do as much as you can here but waiting lists can be ridiculous so make a plan b for taking care of yourself by home. good luck to you.

Let's just get one thing straight. I am not some leech with a chip on my shoulder and some kind of arrogant sense of entitlement looking to rip off pissed off deserving taxpayers. The last thing that I want is prolonged treatment. All I am asking for is immediate advice from anyone that may have had any experience dealing with this sort of thing. I am just a person down on her luck trying to figure out what to do for the time being so I can get on my feet as soon as possible, AND BE AN HONEST WORKING PERSON AGAIN, whether that is here, or in the U.S.

All I did was come to school to get my master's degree, and I was going to try to find work here and had every intention of finding a job in the hopes of staying here as a taxpaying citizen, and was simply going to go home when my visa was expired if i was not successful.

I am a damn hard working person, graduated at the top of my class with distinction and was interviewing with top firms here in London, I wasted no time trying to find work after finishing school, and was one interview away from being hired on with a company here when my back went haywire on me. They had contacted me first, wanting to know if I was interested in working for them. Now I have to call them and explain my situation that has JUST come up, and I seriously doubt they are going to take me on now, as back problems are a kiss of death as far as potential employers are concerned.

Last week, my back went into some kind of severe spasm that was so bad I couldn't move at all and had to be taken to the E.R. (I had been seeing GPs for what I just thought was some kind of pulled muscle for months now.) I have spent much of this week on my back screaming in pain and trying to do my best to suck it up but I have no idea what is going on and all I want is to be well so I can move on. The physiotherapist I was referred to today just referred me to a back pain specialist, and I was told today that i had a prolapsed disc. I don't know what any of this means, he seemed concerned enough to do the referral so you can complain to him that I was scheduled an appointment and not someone older than me. I have been trying like hell to be able to walk like normal or even leave my flat. My biggest accomplishments this week were being able to use the toilet on my own and finally being able to walk to the kitchen and answer the front door.

If it is going to involve any treatment that extends beyond my regular student visa, quite frankly I am not interested in staying on because I am not allowed to work, and I can't afford to do that. Everything I have worked for I have done on my own without help from anyone but myself and some loans from Uncle Sam. I am an illustrator and would probably have to return to the united states and freelance, and take out my own insurance policy if nothing else and I am currently discussing this with members of family. All I am trying to do is figure out a way to box all of my **** from my room and figure out where i can go so i can get treatment as soon as possible and be back to my working self again. Luckily I have a network of friends that are rallying to help me with that, I'm trying to organize this the best I can and I'm not looking for a nanny government to do it for me.

So if it makes any of you feel any better, I've become pretty turned off to the idea of living here fairly quickly, as in addition to my back going out on me, I had my laptop stolen from my flat, and while I was in the hospital my mobile was stolen as well. Basically after school ended everything fell apart. I am not here for entitlement or sympathy, I am plenty well aware of what the general attitude is among a lot of people here in britain. I was just trying to get some practical advice.

So if you want to resent me for policies that I had no control over, rejoice, chances are you can celebrate that if I have my way you will have one less person sticking around to strain your NHS system. All I am trying to do is survive so I can get back on me feet, because more than anything I want to be able to work again. But if you are angry about students receiving such coverage, don't take the issue to me, take action with the people in charge. Thanks anyway.

P.S. Yes I do have NHS coverage, perhaps the outrageous price of tuition that international students have to pay at the public school that I attended has something to do with why we get it. Maybe I should have rephrased it -- i.e. am I better off staying here until november (hopefully the back issue will be resolved by then) or just going back to the U.S. ASAP.

Gathering from what I've been reading my tentative decision is that I am best off continuing with treatment here and hopefully by november it will be all right. They say prolapsed discs dont usually require surgery and just involve some time of therapy. I really hope that will be the case for me.

burgy, thanks for your story.  Hopefully this will help people understand that not everything appears as it would on its surface.

The rules are clear, anyone (ANYONE) who is in the UK for greater than six months legally, is entitled to health care.  It would be foolish to start to judge how someone can or cannot contribute to society.  I think it is horrible that anyone has to worry about their health.  A university student, who is at the top of their class should not be the types of people we should worry about "cheating" the system.

If we want to get pissy or silly about it, I would be just as justified to say it is all the old pensioners who don't contribute any more to society anymore as well as have more health issues then the rest of us, just sucking off society and have overstayed their time on this earth and should be eliminated.

Good thing I am not running for public office.

Well, I really understand the frustrations all around. My experience with the ER and NHS was really, really ugly. I don't really know the entire story yet, I should know within a couple of weeks and I guess it's not knowing what the prognosis is is what has me scared as hell and has me sounding histrionic, because I really want to be able to work and things were just going so great when I was graduating school just a few weeks ago. It's like I've gone from thinking "this is the greatest thing I've ever done" to "This may have been the biggest mistake I've ever done"

My greatest fear is coming home and my father viewing me as a failure and being some starving bum on the street. I will have family to stay with back home and will try to find ways to freelance as i do have an agent now, and would look into short term insurance of some kind. Hopefully by then my disc will be better. It's at least a little bit comforting to know that my mother was really excited that I was going overseas to study before she passed away. So I can at least take that with me.

I know someone back home who has been on disability for years and she abuses it, seriously. She has a really nice apartment, big tv, lots of fishtanks, and she's so used to being in this nice cocoon it's like she's lost the confidence to go out and find a job. Course she's a yank so she's not to blame for the problems over here but I'm sure it does happen over here. I've heard some horror stories about people from countries claiming asylum and not having to do anything and getting money from the British government... I don't remember the details but a Sudanese friend of mine was telling me about it. Really bad stuff.

Hi,

I really feel for you & wish I was closer (I'm in Worcestershire) b/c I'd be able to help you out i.e. help you move around, pack, etc b/c I can only imagine how you must be feeling!  My advice, see how long the NHS will take, live on value food as long as possible & hopefully you'll have regular physio in the meantime to at least help (that & strong pain killers!)  It can't be easy to be unwell & "stuck" in another country - my heart goes out to you & hope things start to look up for you soon.