Emergency care is free to everyone, including you. What follows admission is not, and is billed at 150 percent of the NHS rate.
- A and E treatment, the ambulance and the 111 advice line are free to everyone, but the free part stops the moment you are admitted.
- Being kept in overnight, or any planned hospital care, is charged at 150 percent of the NHS tariff, and you will be asked where you have lived for the past 6 months.
- EU, EEA and Swiss visitors are covered with a valid EHIC or GHIC for medically necessary treatment - bring the card, and keep travel insurance anyway for repatriation and cancellation.
- 111 is the number that saves you a wasted evening - free, 24 hours, and it tells you whether you need A and E, an urgent appointment or a pharmacy.
- Pharmacies handle much more than they used to. Under Pharmacy First a pharmacist in England can assess and prescribe for several common conditions free of charge.
What is free and what is not
This is the part visitors get wrong in both directions. The NHS is not free to everyone for everything, and it is not closed to you either.
| Service | Cost to a visitor |
|---|---|
| Accident and Emergency treatment | Free to everyone |
| Calling 999 and the ambulance | Free |
| NHS 111 advice line | Free |
| Treatment of some infectious diseases | Free |
| Family planning | Free |
| Being admitted to hospital from A and E | Charged at 150 percent of the NHS tariff |
| Planned or follow-up hospital care | Charged at 150 percent |
| GP appointments | Usually free to register and be seen, though practices vary |
- The free part stops the moment you are admitted. Walking into A and E costs nothing; being kept in overnight generates a bill, and it is charged at 150 percent of what the NHS itself pays.
- You will be asked where you have lived for the past 6 months. Answer honestly; the hospital decides chargeability, not you.
- EU, EEA and Swiss visitors with a valid EHIC or GHIC are covered for medically necessary treatment. Bring the card.
- Travel insurance is still worth having even with a GHIC, because it covers repatriation, cancellation and the things the NHS never pays for.
Getting seen
- 999 for an emergency, and 112 works identically.
- 111 is the number that saves you a wasted evening. It is a free, 24-hour NHS advice line that tells you whether you need A and E, an urgent appointment, or a pharmacy. Use it before defaulting to hospital.
- A and E waits are long. Four hours is the target and it is frequently missed by a lot. You are triaged by severity, not arrival time.
- Pharmacies handle much more than they used to. Under Pharmacy First, a pharmacist in England can assess and prescribe for several common conditions without a doctor, free of charge.
- Walk-in centres and urgent treatment centres deal with sprains, cuts and infections faster than A and E.
Practicalities
- Tap water is safe everywhere and free in any pub or restaurant on request.
- There are no required vaccinations and no endemic tropical disease.
- Ticks carry Lyme disease in parts of Scotland, the New Forest and other woodland. Cover up and check yourself after walking in long grass.
- Bring your own prescription medication with a copy of the prescription. Some drugs sold over the counter elsewhere are prescription-only here, and vice versa.
- Hay fever season is severe from late spring into summer if you are susceptible.
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