What to do if you get sick in the UK as a tourist?

Being on holiday is a great time to be away from the routines of daily life and to experience a new place and culture. The UK is a beautiful place to visit, from the majestic highlands of Scotland to the rolling hills of the Lake District, to vibrant cities like London. You will find something for everyone to enjoy.

Healthcare in the UK

The National Health System (NHS) in the UK provides health care services to the public. GP’s provide part of this care, although as a tourist this can be challenging to access as you will need to be registered to obtain medical treatment which can take several weeks.

Pharmacies provide certain medications over the counter and can fulfil prescriptions. A list of pharmacies in the UK are provided here: https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy.

What to do in an emergency situation

If you find yourself becoming unwell in an emergency situation here is some information on services you can access: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/find-urgent-and-emergency-care-services/. Accident and Emergency (A&E) provides care for people needing urgent care and treatment for serious and life threatening conditions such as loss of consciousness, chest pain, shortness of breath or serious injuries.

What we do at Dr.Online UK

At Dr.Online UK (https://patch.dronline.uk/) we undertake GP consultations with tourists on a daily basis. You do not need to be registered to be seen. We see people from a whole host of countries including America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Portugal to name a few, as long as you are currently in the UK. People are seen for a variety of reasons including; needing a prescription for a regular medication that’s been left at home, falling sick in some way, or needing a doctor’s letter or advice.

We provide remote medical assessment, online prescriptions to your phone/device (via our partner Signature Rx), sick notes, referral letters, blood testing and more to help remove the stress while you are away.

If you have any questions regarding our service please visit our website at https://patch.dronline.uk/ where you can find more information. We hope you enjoy your holiday!

The Dr.Online UK Team.