Physical Health

Primary Care/Family Doctor/GP

It is imperative that in the first few days of your time here in Cambridge, that your register with a primary care doctors’ surgery. Primary Care doctors, what we call General Practitioners or GPs in the UK, are often your first point of call for most physical health issues. They will be able to prescribe one‐off medication, repeat prescriptions and send referrals for specialist treatment. The NHS has created this handy guide for students navigating the Cambridge NHS (National Health Service). Information on the GPs in Cambridge can be found at www.clare.cam.ac.uk/Health-and-Welfare/

Health and Wellbeing Centre

Helen James, one of our college nurses, can also provide advice and support for physical health issues. If more specialised help or treatment is required, she will refer or signpost you in the right direction whether via your GP or other local services. You can book an appointment with Helen here: https://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/Online-Booking-System-College-Nurses/

Prescriptions

For most prescriptions you will need to pay £9.80 per prescribed item. For example, if you are prescribed anti‐biotics and anti‐nausea medication, you will pay £19.60. If you take regularly prescribed medication it may be cheaper to buy a Prepayment Certificate.

Dental Treatment

You will need to pay for dental treatments as well as for any associated medical prescription to be collected from a pharmacy; dental problems are not only a pain in the mouth but also in the pocket. Students wishing to register as an NHS dental patient locally can find out which practices in the city are accepting NHS patients using the NHS search facility (http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceSearch/Dentist/LocationSearch/3).

If you need emergency dental treatment you can contact 111 and they will provide you with options on how to get treated ASAP.

Opticians

Appointments to check your eyesight will also incur a charge. Eyesight tests usually cost about £25, plus extra for any glasses/contact lenses. The nearest opticians to Clare are Specsavers and Vision Express.

Emergency

If you require urgent emergency medical assistance and are unable to travel to the hospital, either contact the Porters’ Lodge, if you are living in College accommodation, and/or dial 999 free from any phone and ask for the ambulance service. In some university buildings you need to dial 1999 (1 for an outside line).