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It is a good idea to get organised and register with a local GP and dentist as soon as you arrive in Tooting. It is not a good idea to leave it until you get ill because you won’t be wanting to deal with all the paperwork when you feel like death. In the worst case scenario you could find yourself needing to call a doctor in the middle of the night in an emergency and suddenly realising you have nobody to call.
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To register, it helps to take the address of your doctor at home and your medical card, but you can sign up without these.
Click here for a list of local GPs
Click here for a list of local Dentists
Going to A&E?
There are many rumours that fly around George's regarding what happens if you go to A&E. Whether the reason for attending is related to alcohol or not, the following statements apply:
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If you are a patient, your attendance will be confidential. No one will tell the university anything, even if you happen to be intoxicated.
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If you are a patient you will be treated the same as any other patient; neither better (including being treated quicker) nor worse
Your Students' Union and the A&E department have agreed and produced a document to outline the above points in more detail. Please click here for the Students in Emergency Deaprtment protocol.
Prescription Charges:
Sadly, as a student over 19 years of age, you are no longer entitled to automatic free prescriptions, sight tests, dental checks etc.
However the NHS low income scheme may be able to help if your annual income is £8000 or less. To find out whether this scheme can help you pick up an HC1 form (Claim for help with health costs) from Vice President (Education & Welfare) in the SU offices or at any Social Security office or NHS hospital. Your doctor, dentist or optician might have one too. The information you supply will then be assessed and you may then be issued with certificate HC2 for full help or HC3 for partial help.
If you have already paid for something you may be able to claim a refund using the refund claim form HC5.
If you need a lot of prescriptions etc. it is definitely worth tracking down these forms and taking the time to fill them in as it all adds up and for most of us poverty stricken students, every penny counts. Try thinking of it in terms of how many mars bars or pints of beer you could buy with the money you save!
Click here for a list of local pharmacies
Opticians:
Again: don’t neglect your eyes (they are quite useful, after all) - get them checked if you are at all concerned about your sight. You can get free eye tests and vouchers for lenses with a HC1 form if you have a low income. D&A Opticians (020) 8677 8292 46 Tooting High St. Specsavers (020) 8682 3333 24c Mitcham Road
Click here for a list of local opticians
Staff/Student Occupational Health Service:
There is a Staff/Student Occupational Health Service (located on the perimeter road next to the Sports Centre). The service is available from 8.30am-2.30pm Monday to Friday by appointment, or 2.30pm-5pm for emergencies only. Contact : 020 8725 1661
Occupational Health deal with health issues you may encounter while studying or undertaking clinical work: needle stick injury, for example. If you have a medical problem that might affect your studies then Occupational Health may be able to help, by making sure you get the best treatment and by notifying Registry and writing letters explaining your situation.
Staff from the Occupational Health Service also give students occupational health checks on registration. They will also arrange for you to have any immunisations you need—Hepatitis B or Tuberculosis, for example—in your first year, and provide you with certificates confirming that you’ve been vaccinated.
Remember to keep these certificates safe, as many hospitals may ask for proof of immunity before you’re allowed to undertake clinical study there in later years, and you may be charged for a replacement.
Please note that if you need vaccinations before traveling abroad you will have to have these done at your GP—Occupational Health doesn’t provide this service.
Tooting NHS Walk In Centre:
While it's not a substitute for being registered with a GP, we’re also lucky to have an NHS walk-in centre here on site. It’s in Clare House, which is on the perimeter road between the entrances to A&E and the Atkinson Morley Wing.
The walk-in centre offers the following main services:
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Contraceptive advice
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Coughs, colds and flu-like symptoms
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Information on staying healthy and health promotion
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Minor cuts and wounds—dressings and care
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Muscle and joint injuries—strains and sprains
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Skin complaints—rashes, sunburn and headlice
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Stomach ache, indigestion, constipation, vomiting and diarrhoea
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Treatment of minor infections
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Women's health problems, thrush and menstrual advice
Opening times are 7am to 10pm, seven days per week.
Clare House,
St. Georges Hospital,
Blackshaw Road, London,
SW17 0QT
020 8700 0505
NHS Direct:
NHS Direct also offers information and advice about your health and health services that are available in the area.
They can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 0845 4647, and have a comprehensive website at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
Diet:
It is all too easy to live on beans on toast and jacket potatoes with tuna when you first leave home. Many of you won’t really know how to cook and you’re sharing a kitchen with other people who use your pans and leave them festering in the sink. Besides, you have far more exciting things to do with your time than slave over a hot stove.
However if you continue this pattern for your entire time at George’s, not only will your health and waistline suffer, but you will also miss out on the delights of Tooting cuisine. After all, Tooting market boasts some of the weirdest-looking vegetables you will ever see... I’d recommend investing in a few basic cooking utensils (eg.a spoon) and a student cookbook, and from there it will be difficult to go too far wrong. And remember, the best way to keep your friends sweet is to feed them!
Exercise:
Releases the happy hormones. So get moving because despite us being a small Institution, there’s no shortage of opportunities. The Rob Lowe sports centre is an absolute bargain, at £50 for a year using the facilities which include a weights room, various exercise machines, squash courts and a sports hall which our sports clubs use and where a variety of classes also take place.
To join up just go to the Rob Lowe sports centre to pay where they will take your photo and issue you with a card. There are very strict rules on entering the gym: if caught without a membership you will be asked to leave and that’s final. If you refuse or are rude to the staff, disciplinary action may be taken against you.
If the Rob Lowe is not up market enough for you, there is always Kinetika at Tooting Leisure Centre which costs an arm and a leg but boasts an impressive array of tumtoning type sessions. Here can also be found the swimming pool - we have a deal with them if you are a regular swimmer so come to the Students’ Union offices & we’ll tell you about it...
Then of course there’s always the George’s sports clubs - not just a chance to work muscles you never knew you had, but a social life as well! Bargain!
Vaccines:
The medical school and staff-student health centre will sort you out with Hepatitis B jabs and any others you may need (e.g. BCG) in your first year. Keep your certificate of Hep. B immunity safe, as you may be charged to replace it and many hospitals will ask for proof of immunity before they allow you to work/study there in later years. If you need vaccinations before travelling abroad you will have to have these done at your GP.