Another path - now we have a map

[chopc]

Chopc - Durham-History
@jano69 -Durham -History
@OnTheBenchOfDoom -Durham - Natural Sciences
@Majaso12 -Imperial - don't know subject
@bendmeoverbackwards -Bristol- History
@Pumpkintopf -Imperial/Cambridge -Natural Sciences
@ChimneyPot -Brown (US) - ? Subject
@Stillcrikey -Bristol -MML
@Tenpastseven - Bristol -also modern languages?
@Longtimenewsee - Durham - Chemistry?
@MidLifeCrisis007 - Durham -History
@BigWoollyJumpers - Exeter- History
@SeasonFinale -Bristol- History

@Xenia

My twins who are older registered with the university Bristol GP but it was a nuisance as in holidays (the only time they had for appointments) they were not registered with the G at home and one of mine has just had to do a ton of paperwork having just left Bristol to get re-registered with our home GP and nearly didn't make it was they were trying to say the boundaries had changed.

This was the same for DD1. When she left uni and came home, she had to go through the whole registration process again, with all the health checks., and all the questions. She was like, I've been with you for 18 years, and they were like.... tough, just fill it in again! She had been registered with them since birth. Such a stupid system. As she was in Oxford, she was actually at home, more than away as well. She has now been in London for over two years, and has only now registered with a local GP there. She just used walk-ins when she needed. This is the other thing, they rarely stay in a flat for more than a year at the start, and then would be chopping and changing all over the place.

@Pumpkintopf I managed to find an email from Ds' school about his jabs. He also had HPV, but I paid for that privately. I'll look into meningitis B as well. So many things to do!

Good news today , we have Edinburgh accommodation offer confirmed.
Now know moving in date 12/9/21 and size of bed !
It is all becoming more real.
He was lucky enough to get his first choice , self catering and has an ensuite. His sisters are miffed as they never had their own en suite.
Sibling rivalry never ends, they reckon he has an easy ride as the baby of the family. All pretty good humoured though thankfully.

Sounds fab @olliepolly. Such a great city.

@olliepolly fab, nice to have that all sorted.

Thanks all, interesting points on GP registration and jabs.

@chopc you were asking about suits/tux for DS upthread I think?

We took DS shopping for these today- I was amazed at the dearth of suits available to look at on the high street- literally one option in M&S, two in Next, no DJs in either. I was very glad I’d booked an appointment at Moss Bros - was so lovely, had someone there helping us choose everything and 15% discount with unidays. Not cheap though- spending his inheritance 😁 - but would recommend.

Re GP registration...
It's just worth being aware that when students return home and are not registered with a GP, for anything they want to see that GP about they are literally being seen for free. Until 2004? 2008? GPs could claim a small fee for seeing "temporary residents" - we are now obliged to see them for free. We can suck that up if it's one appointment a year for contraception but some students need (or want) to see their GP several times whilst at home for the holidays - given that GP income is predicated on 2.4 visits/contacts per patient per year and is therefore massively outstripped by most patients (average number of contacts in my area is 11.7 per year) anyway - it is very very galling to be seeing people for free. Most surgeries will ask people to re-register if they are requiring several appointments but they are required to register you as a temporary resident of you are only at home for a short period.
Equally I'm sure it's annoying - and probably financially debilitating - for a uni practice to have people not registering with them but trying to see them as temporary residents.
But the system doesn't allow for being registered in two places at once so it's best to decide where you're most likely to need to be seen most often - and if that's the uni GP then try to sort out pill prescriptions etc in term times...
(Having said that, despite DD going to be away from home for less than 50% of the year, I will be encouraging her to register at uni as she has a chronic condition which - despite our excellent local GPs - has been woefully managed by our local hospital, and therefore I'm hoping she can get referred close to university and managed better. If appointments crop up in the holidays she can always travel back for them. But I'll also be reminding her to sort out her pills etc at uni and not waiting till the holidays!)

Thanks @Chilldonaldchill that's a really comprehensive explanation.

When I started at uni we were all told we had to register at the uni health centre. Interesting to understand what the situation is now and the pros and cons for each.

Thanks for those informed words and stats @Chilldonaldchill.

This is a dilemma that parents with kids at boarding school also face. Boarding schools insist that you register your child(ren) with the visiting school GP, but then have an irritating habit of sending kids home to recover if they are ill. To make matters worse, our local walk-in centre is now a vaccine centre.

FWIW I'll recommend mine stay registered with our home GP when they go to Uni - particularly as phone consultations are likely to remain the norm for the foreseeable....

I think boarders probs have to register with the visiting GP for the reasons outlined by Childonaldchill.

I know our surgery is not normal with it's flexibility as it allows students to de register during term time and register back when on holiday .........

@Pumpkintopf You can get a printout from your GPs with all the vaccinations on. I just phoned them and D1 went down and picked it up (this was last year) and put it in her folder of things to take. Also booked a flu jab at Boots for September before she started.

Thank you @Chilldonaldchill so it sounds like if a student doesn’t have any medical conditions, thus should probably stay registered at home?

@bendmeoverbackwards the trouble with that is that surgeries specifically for students on uni campuses probably couldn't survive if most students didn't register with them (I don't actually know anyone to ask but most GP practices will be working with very narrow margins) - so I don't feel I can actually give that advice either. And some students obviously develop significant illnesses whilst they're away. I think I would just say try and pick one and - as far as is possible and it won't always be - try and deal with any needs at that surgery.

It is a dilemma. Although I said above my twins were more likely to have time for appointments in school holidays (so favouring the home GP) sometimes they might have needed the university one . Anyway we got the letter this week to say his twin was now re-registered back at home (now he has left Bristol) or rather that if the practice accepts you then XYZ (which I think is a formality).

Most students want to do what everyone else is doing as fitting in is important (with my children anyway) so the pattern is and the university advice is register with the GP at university. I think most students including mine will and should do that.

Final note on GPs then and I understand what Chill is saying, however, at the moment with all consultations being on the phone or on-line anyway, surely it actually doesn't matter either way?

And also on GPs I applied for DS1 to move from his boarding school gp back to home and 5 weeks later no progress. At this rate he won’t be registered at home before he has to re-register at University

Meanwhile DS2 and I are having a weekend jaunt to Edinburgh which is looking lovely. Am going to wander around the George square bit of the university and maybe even past Pollock Halls (I assume that is representative of the accommodation? Is the only one I know of) as an early university research effort - DS2 has only just finished year 10 but the experiences of the last two years have made me keen to get ahead.

I'm currently waking up at 4am every morning and can only think it is because I am slightly stressed at DD leaving home . (Or it could be my age...... )

I was devastated when DD1 left, not helped by her being left in "the cupboard under the stairs" type room, having been bottom of the room ballot that year. I cried a lot. It took me a good few weeks to get used to her not being here.

Now DD2 is off, and I am perhaps even closer to her than DD1, and she is definitely more "needy". Don't get me wrong, she is accomplished and independent, but does like to create a drama!

I think not ever having visited Exeter doesn't help either. I am hoping that we can spend a bit of time over drop off, at least seeing her block, and room, the campus, and perhaps a bit of the city centre.

It's such a long drive for us, definitely having a wobble.

Aww BWJ.
I shall deffo feel a pang when Dd leaves as we are very close . She will leave me in a house of males and I shall miss our silent looks and eye rolls 😁 . However, she had such a time of it after Xmas this year (not just the oxbridge rejection) that it feels like such a triumph that she’s come though it and I am very keen for her to move on with her life . Any pang is tempered by immense relief and excitement for her.
I shall come on here for virtual eye rolls and commiserations with you lot instead

About 40% of consultations are face to face in most practices. Initial contact is usually telephone or online but then lots are brought in for examination. Would be very annoying to do the history taking and then get "oh no I can't come in, I'm 300 miles away" and be unable to do anything more. Obviously some things are going to be done on the phone but not everything!

@BigWoollyJumpers

Final note on GPs then and I understand what Chill is saying, however, at the moment with all consultations being on the phone or on-line anyway, surely it actually doesn't matter either way?

Comment above was in response to this but quote didn't work. Sorry!

Hi @BigWoollyJumpers I'm in exactly the same position that I'm going to miss my DD dreadfully come September. Thankfully we visited Exeter in the Autumn of year 12 and my DD loved the campus and the buzz of the students. We made a weekend of it and I feel very happy with my DD's choice and Exeter is a lovely place. Realistically with a 3 1/2+ hour drive she won't be able to come home regularly but I plan to visit if I'm allowed!

Thank you for your top tips on uni as my DD joined the Facebook groups this weekend and hopes to connect with a few people once accommodation is released on Monday.
Ps I've name changed slightly.

Yeah the continual de-registering and re-registering is a complete pain if DCs have chronic medical conditions which require regular prescriptions.

DD was with the same GPs for 12 years before going off to university, you wouldn't have thought it was beyond their ken that she might need insulin in the holidays…

Re GPs. DD is at a Scottish uni, we live in England. She has regular meds and it is very difficult to get them sent over the border! Also worth noting for anyone heading to Scotland, all prescriptions are free. As is dental care. No need to fill out the long form.

DS1 has managed to be registered with two GPs. None of have any idea how this has happened. He registered with his uni GP five years ago, and lives in that city still (PhD student now). He got called for Covid vax in March back home, and when he rang to ask he was assured absolutely it was impossible to be dual registered. His other GP surgery said the same 🤷‍♀️

My eldest ds was unwell at university and of course if they are seriously unwell the first thing that happens is that they either come, or are sent, home. The fact that he was no longer registered at home was another headache that we could have done without , the fact is that we were the caregivers and whilst the GP in the university town was great for minor matters and were actually fab at diagnosing him, as soon as he was diagnosed he came home and we commenced the long winded task of re registering. We had at least 3 months where his notes were completely lost in the system . I really don’t understand why there isn’t a specific scheme for students where they can be registered as a student in one place and permanent in another .

On balance I would prefer ds to stay with our excellent local GP where he has been since birth but it does worry me that if he needed a GP at university they might not see him if he wasn’t registered .

(My older son , no longer a student, who moved 90 minutes away from home, is still using our home NHS dentist because he just cannot find one in Oxfordshire so far! I am glad he has not de-registered from ours in the meantime and he needed root canal work in the pandemic - they would only give him antibotics for about 7 months due to CV19 restrictions last year but now at least he has had the root canal work)