Healthcare FAQs

UK students: you will automatically be covered by the NHS.

International students: if your course lasts more than 6 months and is full time, then as soon as you are registered with a local family doctor (General Practitioner/GP) in Cambridge, you will have as much National Health Service (NHS) cover as any UK citizen (except possibly for the treatment of any pre-existing conditions). Therefore you are strongly advised to choose and register with a GP as soon as possible after your arrival in Cambridge.

If you already have medical insurance in your home country, you may wish to check whether this can be extended to cover your stay in the UK.

The payment office at the local general hospital (Addenbrooke’s) advises that all international students obtain private healthcare insurance to cover the following potential health-related costs:

• Loss of fees, if you are unable to complete your course
• Additional treatment and medical expenses not covered by the National Health Service
• Costs of returning home, if a relative is taken ill
• Costs of a relative visiting you in the UK, if you fall ill
• Returning to your home country for treatment

Further information is available from the University International Student Team.

If your course lasts more than 6 months and is full time, then as soon as you are registered with a local family doctor (General Practitioner/GP) in Cambridge, you will have as much National Health Service (NHS) cover as any UK citizen (except possibly for the treatment of any pre-existing conditions). Therefore you are strongly advised to choose and register with a GP as soon as possible after your arrival in Cambridge.

If you already have medical insurance in your home country, you may wish to check whether this can be extended to cover your stay in the UK.

The payment office at the local general hospital (Addenbrooke’s) advises that all international students obtain private healthcare insurance to cover the following potential health-related costs:

• Loss of fees, if you are unable to complete your course
• Additional treatment and medical expenses not covered by the National Health Service
• Costs of returning home, if a relative is taken ill
• Costs of a relative visiting you in the UK, if you fall ill
• Returning to your home country for treatment

Further information is available from the University International Student Team.

If your course lasts for longer than 6 months and is full time, then National Health Service care and treatment will be available to both of you, as much as a UK citizen (except possibly for the treatment of any pre-existing conditions), once you are both registered with a local family doctor (General Practitioner/GP) in Cambridge… assuming that your spouse will be living with you while you study. Therefore you are strongly advised to choose and register with a GP as soon as possible after your arrival in Cambridge.

If you already have medical insurance in your home country, you may wish to check whether this can be extended to cover your stay in the UK.

The payment office at the local general hospital (Addenbrooke’s) advises that all international students obtain private healthcare insurance to cover the following potential health-related costs:

• Loss of fees, if you are unable to complete your course
• Additional treatment and medical expenses not covered by the National Health Service
• Costs of returning home, if a relative is taken ill
• Costs of a relative visiting you in the UK, if you fall ill
• Returning to your home country for treatment

Further information is available from the University International Student Team.

It is a University rule that all students must register with a local doctor within the first two weeks of term. Being registered here in Cambridge will not preclude you from seeing your GP when you are at home (this can be done by completing a temporary resident’s form).

More information about registering with a doctor

The National Health Service and how it works can seem very complicated if you have never had to use the system before. The following guide should help.

Please note that student eligibility to use the NHS, and what eligible students need to do to access it, varies. It also may have changed since the UK left the EU; you should check the latest guidance online.

International students: healthcare in the UK

You can find out which countries have reciprocal healthcare arrangements with the UK on the NHS website:

NHS: healthcare abroad

Your NHS number is your National Unique Patient Identifier, used to help healthcare staff and service providers match you to your health records. You are allocated one at birth or when you register with a UK General Practitioner / GP (Family Doctor). If you have not registered with UK GP before, you will not have one so leave this section blank on the form.

You should be able to find your NHS number from the following sources:

• on your NHS medical card, if you have one (not all NHS areas issue medical cards)
• on an NHS letter or other NHS document
• on a printed prescription
• on request from your home GP surgery

Only leave this section on the GP Registration form blank if you have completely explored the above possibilities.

The NHS provides the following for free:

• Free consultation with your Doctor (General Practitioner)
• Free hospital treatment in Accident and Emergency
• Free hospital treatment if your Doctor recommends it
• Free contraceptive services
• Free maternity care.

You will need to pay for:

• Any medication the Doctor prescribes for you (unless you are exempt)
• Any dental treatment within the NHS scheme
• The cost of eye tests and glasses or contact lenses.
• Any forms or letters you may ask to be completed for you
• Some vaccinations.

In a serious emergency (e.g. difficulty breathing, chest pain, fracture, anaphylactic shock etc.), call 999 or 112 and discuss the situation with the operative who may summon an ambulance or a doctor.

NHS: when to call 999

If you live in college please also contact the Porter’s Lodge for help and advice; all  the Porters are qualified First Aiders. The Accident and Emergency Department is based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

For rapid advice in a non-emergency situation, there is a phone service managed by the NHS called NHS 111 which can be accessed by dialling 111 from any phone.

The service is staffed by a team of fully trained advisers, supported by experienced nurses and paramedics. They will ask you questions to assess your symptoms, then give you the healthcare advice you need or direct you straightaway to the local service that can help you best. That could be A&E, an out-of-hours doctor, an urgent care centre or a walk-in centre, a community nurse, an emergency dentist or a late-opening chemist.

Where possible, the NHS 111 team will book you an appointment or transfer you directly to the people you need to speak to. If NHS 111 advisers think you need an ambulance, they will immediately arrange for one to be sent to you. Give the 111 adviser their address and postal code and inform the Porters’ Lodge immediately (so a porter can direct the ambulance and open access gates/doors if necessary).

You will need to make an appointment to discuss this with your Cambridge General Practitioner / GP (Family Doctor). In the UK, it is the GP who makes the referral, if necessary.

Once you have received your NHS card you may be eligible for free treatment throughout the EU, and countries with a reciprocal health agreement. Since Brexit, there are two types of cover available.

You can apply for either:

• a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)
• a UK European Health Insurance Card (new UK EHIC), if you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement

For most people, the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) replaces the existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for new applications. They provide the same access to healthcare in the EU.

You can use an UK EHIC or GHIC to get state-provided medically necessary healthcare when you’re visiting an EU country.

Medically necessary healthcare means healthcare that cannot reasonably wait until you come back to the UK. Whether treatment is necessary is decided by the healthcare provider in the country you are visiting.

Please note you are not eligible for any treatments abroad until you receive a card. If you travel abroad before you have received a card it is essential to take out private insurance.

If you are travelling outside the EU or to any country which is not covered by a reciprocal health care agreement, you must have private medical insurance. The NHS will not help with medical costs incurred outside Europe. If you go skiing you must take out private insurance. An EHIC will not cover the cost of mountain rescue. Most dangerous sports require private insurance.

You are recommended, in the strongest terms, to follow the advice for newly arriving students on vaccine preventable infectious diseases from the University, the latest edition of which is available on their health web pages.

Currently in the UK, the Men ACWY vaccine is being offered free by the NHS to students going to university or college for the first time as Freshers, including overseas and mature students up to the age of 25, when they contact their GP to have it, ideally before the start of the academic year. This is because they probably will be living and working in an environment associated with the higher risks of getting it.

Although you are now 26, if you have accommodation in College and /or will be sharing your working space with students, you might like to consider being vaccinated before you arrival, if you are able. If however this is not possible, you can obtain it privately at your own expense in the UK, for example at Superdrug it will cost about £60. This is approximately the cheapest available at time of writing.

Currently in the UK, the Men ACWY vaccine is being offered free by the NHS to students going to university or college for the first time as Freshers, including overseas and mature students up to the age of 25, when they contact their GP to have it, ideally before the start of the academic year. This is because they probably will be living and working in an environment associated with the higher risks of getting it.

Returning students (or students who are 25 years old and over) who want the MenACWY vaccine can obtain it privately at their own expense in the UK, for example, at Superdrug, it will cost about £70. This is about the cheapest available at time of writing.

We ask all new students to complete a self-report form with details of your medical history. The information that you give will, of course, be confidential and the form will be retained by the College Nurse for consultation as required.

The information is very important in helping us to ensure that a student’s academic work suffers as little as possible from disability or ill-health. Even apparently minor problems can affect both term-time work and examination performance, and it is naturally in your best interest that the information you supply is accurate. In no way can such information prejudice your academic career or general well-being — on the contrary, it can only help.

Please fill-in the online pre-arrival form only after your place has been confirmed in August. Please rest assured that security measures are in place to ensure that any information entered on this form will remain confidential.

Complete medical form

The College and the University work together to offer the maximum possible support to all students. It’s very useful and helpful for you to let us know if you will require any support or advice when you come up to Cambridge.

The earlier that we are aware of any disability, the better we are able to ensure that all the arrangements you require are in place before you start here (e.g. study skills support, suitable accommodation and exam access arrangements). You may also find that you are eligible for the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) or other available funding to support your needs.

Like all the Colleges at Cambridge, we work in close cooperation with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC). Their dedicated team of experts provide support, advice and guidance for disabled students and students with specific learning difficulties. With your permission, our College staff can liaise with them to create a support plan that meets your needs.

We strongly recommend that you inform both the College (Tutor and Nurse) and the ADRC if you have any disability. To do this, please follow the link below and complete the disability disclosure form and notify the ADRC that you are happy for them to share your information with the College.

ADRC information form