General Health Information
All Ukrainians lawfully in UK as a result of war in their country are entitled to free NHS health care.
This includes:
Anyone using an alternative temporary visa route outside of the family or sponsorship routes
Anyone on a family or sponsored route to England
Anyone who chooses to extend their visit or seasonal worker visa temporarily, without going through the immigration health surcharge system
Anyone who is in the process of switching visas
Anyone can attend an Accident and Emergency department (A&E) or call 999 in an emergency but access to almost all other NHS services requires registration with a GP. It is recommended that Ukrainian guests register with a GP practice as soon as possible.
Registering with a GP. Most people have a choice about which General Practice they register with but for Ukrainian guests newly arrived in this country it may be easiest to register with the same practice as their host family initially. The registration process has been made easier for refugees and full documentation (proof of identity, address and legal status) is not officially required but any available documentation taken along at the time of registration is likely to make the process simpler and quicker.
Community Wellbeing Hub – 0300 247 0050, website https://communitywellbeinghub.co.uk/
Assessing new patients. Although not all GP practices will have experience of working with refugees, comprehensive guidance has been issued to practices about assessing new patients from Ukraine. This includes advice about checking vaccination status and offering covid and other immunisations as necessary, referring pregnant women to antenatal care, prescribing long-term medications and assessing mental health.
Translation. GPs and hospitals have access to translation services using professional translators via telephone links. As these translators are trained, understand medical terminology and are bound by the code of confidentiality it is preferable to use them rather than family members or friends. It is helpful to let the practice or hopsital know that translation will be needed when making an appointment. (Google Translate can be useful in an emergency or if no other translation service is available.)
Transport. Lifts to GP, hospital and other health-related appointments can be provided by volunteer drivers through the Chew Valley Community Transport Scheme if no other transport is available. Please see the Transport page (under More) for further information.
Medication. Due to differences in assessing and licensing of medications, some medications which are available in Ukraine may not be available in UK. The GP will help to find suitable alternatives. Some drugs which can be bought from a pharmacy in Ukraine (such as some asthma inhalers and some antibiotics) require a prescription in UK.
Pharmacies. Pharmacists are able to advise about minor health conditions and many simple remedies are available over the counter from pharmacies. Visiting a community pharmacy may be more convenient and quicker than making a GP appointment for a minor health problem.
Resources in Ukrainian and Russian. Here are links to a useful information sheet about how the NHS works in English, Ukrainian and Russian:
Other documents about a variety of health topics translated into several languages can be found on the Doctors of the World website: https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/translated-health-information