Students

Students

Click here for NHS advice on how to access healthcare as a student or to register with us.

Non-urgent advice: Registering with a GP

Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University both recommend that all students are registered with a GP in Cambridge apon arrival. This allows continuity of care from your home GP to us so that any medical needs can be dealt with quickly and easily. This is particularly important if you have a medical condition that requires ongoing treatment.

To be able to offer medical care when you are at the University patients must register with us before they need us so that we can have access to their previous GP records.

Medical records can take 48 hours to be electronially sent to us. If you need medical care in that time please contact the college nurse, your home GP, or NHS 111, if it is a life threatening situation dial 999. 

As an NHS organisation we are not part of the University, please be assured that any information you give us will be treated in strictest confidence.  We will not share any information about you with the Univeristy, or anyone, without your consent, except in very rare situations

You can register online with Huntindgdon Road Surgery if you live within our catchment area.  Students who have a permenant address (a pigeon hole) at College can use their College address when they register, provided the address is in our catchment area.  That includes all students at Girton College, Fitzwilliam College, Murray Edwards College, Lucy Cavendish College, Magdelene College and St Edmunds College.

If you do not have an address in our area you can find a local GP on the NHS Choices website.   

Thinking of staying with your GP at home?

Every year there are some students who feel they would be better off staying registered with their home GP.  Often they are patients with more complicated medical histories, or those on medication.

We do understand that changing GP is difficult for some people.  We will do our best to make the change as easy as possible and hope that we will get to know you just as well as your previous GP.  That is why we have an individual list system, so that you will usually get to see the same GP each time.  We are experts in student care and we understand.  

It is REALLY important you change to us when you start at University.  

If you are reading this because your son or daughter is coming to study in Cambridge, make sure they register with a Cambridge GP.  Eligible patients can register with us here.

Student at laptop
Group of surgeons
Under a specialist clinic?

If you are under a specialist (e.g. hospital consultant) clinic and change GP, you do NOT need to change specialist.  Most patients prefer to remain under the care of their specialist at home.  That is absolutely fine.  

However you must inform that clinic that you have changed GP otherwise the hospital will not know and correspondance will get lost in the post.  Unfortunately NHS computer systems are not that linked up.

It would be helpful if you could ask them for your most recent clinic letter to be sent to us, or if you could get a copy and send it through to us once you are registered with us.

You may of course choose to move your specialist care to one local to Cambridge.  You should discuss that with your new GP once you have registered with us.  It is always best to stay with your previous specialist until we have arranged for you to see your new one.

Unfortuantely there are a few NHS services which are organised  geographically, and so are only available to those who live locally.  These include mental health services, eating disorder services and specialist services for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  That means if you have been under the care of one of these services and move to University, your home service may decline to see you.  University is a time of life when these problems are more common, or can get worse.  People with these problems also generally need to contact their GP more often.  It is absolutely essential that you register with us as soon as possible so that we know about you and can support you including, if appropriate, introducing you to our local specialists. 

Contraception (Family Planning)

Information and advice about all forms of contraception (also known as "family planning") is available from any of our doctors or from our family planning trained nurses.  Please let reception know you want to discuss contraception so that they can help you contact the most appropriate person.

We also provide emergency contraception, inlcuding the "morning after" pills and the coil (IUD). You can also get the emergency contraceptive pill from your local pharmacy without seeing a GP.  If you find yourself needing advice on after-sex contraception, it is always best to seek advice as soon as possible.

Your College Nurse can also provide advice about any of the above.

Alternatively you can book directly with the local sexual health and family planning clinic iCASH

All forms of contraception are free under the NHS.

 

contraception
Coffee

Counselling

Students and Staff of the University of Cambridge have access to free confential counselling service from the University.  You can self-refer without seeing a GP.  The Cambridge University Counselling Service website offers a good deal of helpful information.

Some Colleges also have counselling available onsite.  You can find information about this on your College Student Welfare pages, from the College Nurse or from your Tutor.

Students at other universities including Anglia Ruskin Univeristy will have access to similar services.  Ask your tutor or student support service, or look on your university website.

NHS counselling is available to all our patients, but waiting times are long and almost always you are better off using your university service if you can.

Urgent advice: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) [in UK] and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) [in USA]

 If you have ADHD or ADD please read this page.

 

SHA logo
Student Health Association

We are proud to be active members of the Student Health Association, who support and represent specialists in student healthcare.

SHA Assistance Fund

The Student Health Association runs the Student Health Association Assistance Fund (Charity no. 253984 – est.1967). The fund helps students with disabilities to keep up with their studies.

The maximum amount of each award is £500 and students must be involved in higher education on a full-time or nearly full-time basis.

Click here for more information.

Students

ESC Student is an app created to help improve student health.  It can answer common questions about your health without the need for an internet connection. Certified by NHS England Information Shared as a source of reliable health information.

Search your app store for "ESC student health app".