My First NHS Experience

I have an unfortunate tendency for out-of-sight, out-of-mind procrastination for certain administrative tasks. Some of these left over from moving to London 6 months ago are signing up for private health insurance, setting up an ISA savings account, applying for a credit card, sorting out my US tax situation, and until this week, signing up with a GP in London.

There were various reasons for my delay. I wasn't sick, I didn't need any prescriptions refilled, and well, the whole process just seemed daunting. I had heard so many stories about how you have to find a GP who is accepting new patients, how you can never get an appointment, etc. Apparently, you also need to live within a certain GP's 'jurisdiction' of sorts to even sign up with them as well.

I also, strangely enough, have an aversion to calling up 'people I don't know' as I put it. This includes shops, doctors offices, etc. I figure, if it can't be solved, researched or requested on the Internet, then I can't be bothered. But that's another story...So I get up the initiative to call a doctor's office in Clapham just after New Years. Busy signal. I called two more times, and got two more busy signals. That was enough to deter me from taking any more initiative until this week.

I've been sick for the past two weeks. The entire month of February, in fact, I was exhausted, traveling to 5 countries in just over 3 weeks. But after actually taking 5 sick days (which I can't ever remember doing since sometime in high school), I thought ok, fine. Time to go to a doctor and hope they give me antibiotics or something.

Here's where it got surprisingly easy. I went to the NHS web site. I put in my post code and a list of doctors came up. I found the closest GP to my house (just around the corner from my street) and I called them. Yes, they are accepting new patients. (Joy!) I go into the office the next morning, fill out the new patient forms and tense up as I ask how long of a wait is there for appointments? They can see me tomorrow morning (Double joy!).

I'm back the next morning, and the appointments are running about 15 minutes over schedule but I don't care. I flip through an August 2006 issue of InStyle while listening to the radio the receptionist has tuned to some fairly good music, although I didn't recognise the bands. The patient before me leaves the doctor's office and then we hear a little ding. The doctor is ready to see me. I walk down the hallway back towards the front door.

I should mention that this is the least likely doctor's office I've ever seen. It's actually the ground floor of a building much like the subdivided flat that I live in round the corner. There are two rooms for seeing patients. One is more the typical office with all the instruments, the sink, etc. The other is the doctor's personal office, which is what would be the living room if this were still a flat. There is an electrical heater placed directly in front of the fireplace. There are lace curtains over the large window. The doctor has a large dark wood desk with a computer facing the wall, but for the appointment he swivels around and asks me to sit in the leather arm chair. (Did I accidentally make an appointment with a shrink?)

I sit down and he peruses my forms, asking about my surgeries and noticed that I put an impossible date for my 'moved to London' space on the form. I put September 2007. He takes my weight and blood pressure and asks me about why I'm there for a visit. I'll cut this part short and just say that he wouldn't give me any drugs for my cold. I know, I know, it's probably viral, but I have so many symptoms, I thought surely I had at least something that was bacterial.

He does, however, write me a prescription for another medication I take, after looking up the UK name in a hard copy book. On my way out, I stop by the receptionist. No, there are no forms to sign and there is no payment required. (Cool!) I head into the office, planning to drop off my prescription at a Boots Pharmacy next to the office.

Filling the prescription was just as easy as getting the doctor's appointment. I handed them the prescription, there weren't any additional forms to fill out or insurance questions. I came back after work to find the prescription filled and handed over to me with a subtotal of £0. (Awesome!) And then, I just walk out of the pharmacy, feeling like I've just gotten away with something...