Health and insurance

Am I eligible for medical cover with the National Health Service (NHS)?

Doctors in England, Wales and Scotland normally accept all students onto their lists of NHS patients. Hospitals offer some level of care to all visitors and residents of the UK. However, not all hospital treatment is automatically covered so the information below will help you decide whether to take individual medical insurance.

Download the free Student Health App for reliable and useful health information for students.

Student visa holders

If you paid the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) as part of your visa application, you are eligible to use hospitals and see a General Practitioner (GP) free of charge.

If you did not need to pay IHS with your visa application (for example, if you applied from outside the UK and your course was for less than 6 months), you are not covered for all hospital treatments and you should arrange individual medical insurance.

EU and EEA students

If you have applied for the EU Settlement Scheme and have confirmation of settled or pre-settled status, you will be entitled to use the UK National Healthcare Service (NHS) for free. If you are still awaiting confirmation of your status, you can access the NHS for free as long as you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If you do not have an EHIC, it is important that until an application under the EU Settlement Scheme is decided, you have comprehensive sickness insurance while you are in the UK as a student.

If you can't get an EHIC card and haven't been granted settled or pre-settled status, you should arrange medical insurance. Please contact us if you would like individual advice about your situation.

This is also true for EU students arriving in the UK on a Visitor Visa (courses less than 6 months). EU students who have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) as part of the Student visa will be covered by this (see section above).

EU students might be eligible for a IHS refund. However, if they are on a Student visa and apply for an IHS refund, they would lose the possibility to work in the UK on their Student visa. Please contact ISAT if you need information.

Visitor visa or short-term

Students on a Visitor visa or short-term Student visa for 6 months or less do not normally pay the IHS and are therefore not eligible to use all parts of hospital care. We strongly recommend that you take out individual medical insurance unless you are an EU student who has an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). The EHIC allows you to access the UK National Healthcare Service (NHS) for free.

If you paid Immigration Health Surcharge as part of your short term student visa you are able to use the NHS without charge. This is normally the case if you are on an 11 month visa.

Medical and other insurance

Medical insurance

If you decide to purchase medical insurance, UKCISA has information about how to do this.

Contents insurance

In the UK, it is usual to pay for insurance to protect against any loss or injury to yourself or your belongings. Policies usually cover you for part or all of the replacement value of what you have lost. You can also use an insurance company in your own country or check Endsleigh, a company which insures students. If you have valuable items, e.g. jewellery and electrical items, make sure the policy covers their value. If you are living in an Oxford Brookes hall of residence, they will insure some of the contents of your room.

Travel insurance

You can insure your luggage for the time you are travelling by buying travel insurance. Keep copies of your insurance policies, passport and visa.

Accessing healthcare in the UK

Alert Students need to have a valid UK phone number in order to register at a medical practice and book an appointment with a doctor (GP). Foreign phone numbers will not be accepted.

Non-urgent appointments

Brookes has a Medical Centre on campus which has doctors and nurses who offer a full, confidential medical service. You should register with the Medical Centre when you first arrive, rather than waiting for when you are sick. They will send you a letter confirming your registration which will have your NHS number. This means you are registered and your file will be found if you need to go to hospital. These doctors are called General Practitioners (GPs).

To make an appointment with the doctor, please call the Medical Centre reception, or book your appointment online, as most of the Medical Centres do not accept walk-ins.

Rapid advice in a non-emergency situation

For rapid advice in a non-emergency situation, there is an online and phone service managed by the NHS called NHS 111 which can be accessed by dialing 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 your address and postal code.

Urgent appointments

If you need medical advice on the same day but do not need to access hospital facilities, call Brookes Medical Centre. They will offer you a doctors appointment or a phone call from a doctor.

For medical emergencies, you can go to the Accident and Emergency department (A&E). The closest hospital with an A&E department is the John Radcliffe Hospital. If you are too unwell to travel before seeking medical help, please call 999 and ask for an ambulance. There are no fees for Accident and Emergency services, and you do not have to have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge to use them.

If you are unsure who you should see, please call 111. This is a 24-hour nurse led telephone service and they will refer you to the most appropriate service.

Dental care

Damira Dental is the on-campus dentist surgery. The NHS subsidies dental treatment if you are eligible to use the NHS without paying. Charges depend on the treatment