EF Academy Oxford
What can I expect from the NHS/How does the NHS work?
The NHS is a complex system, which can sometimes make it difficult to understand – especially working out who is responsible for what. It’s made up of a wide range of different organisations with different roles, responsibilities, and specialities.
In the UK healthcare is generally free, whether one sees a GP or needs to attend a hospital.
Care in the UK may be very different to that of a student’s home country, it is provided through the NHS (National Health Service), a GP (general practitioner) manages primary care (that is care not in a hospital) – if a student needs to see someone else EF healthcare will discuss this with the student (this includes referrals to other services)
Non acute care will be managed through the GP practice, if we are closed the student will need to use the Out of Hours Service (OOH – 111) – If the health concern is acute (i.e. chest pain – difficulty breathing) the student will need to attend Accident and Emergency at the hospital – via 999 (ambulance) or attending the hospital – this is also free
If the student is not sure what service they need they can discuss this with EF healthcare or the EF pastoral support team.
We do not provide private health care and in general would not advise its use as we can provide most care needed without the cost a student would have to pay for private care
To access free NHS health care you will need to be registered with a family doctor also known as a General Practitioner or GP. For EF the local GP practice is Hedena Health.
Hedena Health is made up of GP’s, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Paramedics, Clinical Pharmacists and Practice Nurses. All of which you may have contact with at some point during your time in the country.
If you are prescribed a medication, you may need to pay for this prescription at the pharmacy. All prescriptions now go electronically to a nominated pharmacy of your choosing.
Eye tests are available from Opticians; check local listings for addresses and telephone numbers or look around the city centre – there is lots of choice and many offer special deals
Who’s who?
How to book an appointment?
If you require an appointment please speak with your EF pastoral team that will be able to make an appointment for you. Currently our sessions are running remotely and you will be asked to attend the nurses room at your appointment time and a clinician will join you on a video call to discuss your problem.
What can I expect at my appointment?
The clinician will ask you a series of questions about your problem, be prepared to answer them truthfully and thoroughly to enable our clinicians to make a correct diagnosis. The clinician may prescribe you a medicine or they may advise you on how best to manage your problem yourself. Please be sure to ask any questions and say if you do not understand anything. They will also arrange any follow up you may need.
Useful resources
Viral Illnesses
It is very common to get viral illness, especially in the school environment. Many of these conditions can be easily managed with self-care and you will not need to see a health care professional.
You can minimise spread by following good hand hygiene procedures.
Useful Links
Low mood/anxiety/depression
Moving to a new country can be frightening time, and you may feel anxious or upset about this.
If you are concerned about how your mood is, you could complete a self-assessment
You can also make an appointment with one of the EF health care team to have a chat about it.
Useful Links
Smoking
Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK and has many harmful effects.
If you smoke and want help with quitting, you can ask your EF health care provider for more information and who will put you in touch with local smoking cessation services.
Alcohol
Regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health
New evidence around the health harms from regular drinking has emerged in recent years.
There's now a better understanding of the link between drinking and some illnesses, including a range of cancers.
To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:
⦁ men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
⦁ spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week
⦁ if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
Fourteen units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of low-strength wine. How Alcohol Units are calculated
Useful Links
Vaccinations
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