Ifyou are thinking about moving to the UK, you are probably thinking about housing, your new job prospects, the wage you can expect to receive, how driving will be, and whether you should add some new pieces to your wardrobe if you happen to come from a very different climate. But there’s another aspect that you need to take into very careful consideration and which is unfortunately often overlooked by expats: healthcare. If you are dealing with chronic illness, this factor will be a priority for you, but it might not even be on your radar otherwise.
However, having access to healthcare is a must for living a healthy and fulfilled life. As such, it’s important to know what you should expect.
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UK healthcare system
The UK has a free and publicly-funded healthcare system known as the NHS, the National Health System. The difference between it and other similar systems from all over the world is that the NHS is funded via taxation. There is also a private healthcare sector you can access if you wish, but it is much smaller than the public one. Each UK region has its own NHS body, so you should access the websites for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England, depending on where you’ll live. There are some differences between the structures of the services offered, but they are nothing glaring.
The Department of Health oversees the NHS, with the system being responsible for primary care services covering a wide range of areas including dentists, doctors, and pharmacists. Rehabilitative care, emergency care, mental health, and planned hospital care were the responsibility of Clinical Commissioning Groups for several years but were abolished in 2022 and replaced by ICS, or integrated care systems, following the Health and Care Act 2022. As in all other countries, private healthcare will typically provide you with much quicker access to a doctor, as the waiting times are much shorter.
But if you will live in the UK permanently you should still be aware of the fact that you are entitled to free healthcare through the NHS.
Malpractice
Medical malpractice is one of the scariest things that could happen to a patient, as it often results in delayed diagnosis or the administering of unnecessary treatments. These factors can cause existing health issues to worsen and the subsequent treatment to be more expensive or uncomfortable. You can find a guide on how to sue the NHS online so that you don’t start the process not knowing all that much about the legal aspects of it. Working with a professional solicitor is the best way to ensure a positive outcome and prove that a medical professional really failed in their duty of care toward you.
It’s important to remember that claims are about compensation, as courts are unable to discipline healthcare practitioners or force doctors and nurses to change the way they work or be dismissed from their jobs. You can file for compensation if the treatment you received doesn’t meet the standard of competence you expected, and you suffered health damage as a result. You can also receive compensation if you’re next of kin to someone who passed away as a result of negligent treatment. There are two main types of damages you can sue for: general and special. The former includes compensation for the injury itself, while the latter refers to the loss of earnings, extra care requirements, and other medical expenses you acquired during the recovery process.
The costs
NHS healthcare is predominantly funded via direct taxation, with the Department’s spending for 2022/23 being £181.7 billion. Approximately 95% of this spending went to day-to-day items such as medicine. For 2024/25, the budget is set to record a rather steep increase and reach £192 billion, a £1.1 billion increase compared to the previous year when adjusted for inflation. Although most services are free, there are some for which residents can expect to pay a little extra.
Dental treatments are one, as are prescription charges and glasses. In some cases, there’s no need to pay for these services at all, for example, if you get benefits such as Income Support. The free treatments you receive won’t harm your status as an expat in any way. Among the free care treatments that are part of the NHS, you will find family planning services, medication for some infectious diseases, psychiatric treatments, and seeing a GP.
Registering for healthcare
Registering for the NHS in the UK is typically done through a GP practice. You will need to fill out a GMS1 form using the exact details you also used when filling out your visa. The GP decides whether patients are accepted or not, but refusals are only carried out on the basis of non-discriminatory reasons. Having GP practice registration means that you will be invited for NHS screening services, but there’s a likelihood of having to pay for the treatment since it may not always be provided by the GP practice.
Hospital care is free for all individuals who classify as “ordinarily resident” in the United Kingdom. You may be asked to prove that you live in the United Kingdom on a lawful and properly settled basis. If you visit England for more than six months, you will have to pay the immigration health surcharge upfront for the entire duration of your visa. Apart from the GMS1 form and proof of address (which can come in the form of a UK utility bill), you will also need to provide a valid ID, such as a passport.
Additional services
Some of the women’s healthcare services you will be able to access in the UK include free contraception, maternity care services, IVF for women under 40, screening for breast or cervical cancers, as well as a wide range of gynaecological services. Children’s healthcare includes vaccination programs, such as the 6-in-1 vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, hepatitis B, tetanus, and haemophilus influenzae type B.
If you plan on relocating to the UK, you should definitely look into the healthcare services first and foremost, especially the areas that interest you the most and are most pertinent to your lifestyle.