Your time at University will have many good and bad points and one of the bad points will be falling ill. This can affect your health, your studies, your exams and heaven forbid your social life!

Health Benefits – HC1 forms:

If you are under 19 and in full-time education then you are entitled to free health care under the NHS.

Once you reach 19, you will have to apply for help with health costs by filling in the HC1 form, available from ASK.  Once your HC1 form has been accessed it can entitle you to free… add from form.  If you are unsure how to fill in the form just ask and someone will give you a hand.

It might be worth noting that in Scotland eye sight tests and dental check ups are free of charge and that a prescription costs £4.

If you’re reading this having already paid for treatment but you think you are eligible for help you can fill out an HC5 form, also available from ASK, to get your money back.  You will need receipts for your treatment, which you send away with your form.  There are time limits on what you can claim so check the form to see if your claim is valid. 

Free Condoms:

ASK is a distribution site for C-card a Glasgow-wide service that people can access free condoms from.  All you need to do it registar for a C-card –which takes about 2 minutes!- and you can get free condoms whenever you need them from various sites across Glasgow.  When you registrar we take you date of birth and postcode but this is only used so that people who run C-card know what age groups and areas in Glasgow are using the service, we’re not going to be knocking on your door or sending you’re a birthday card!  We provide a range of different condoms (all made by Pasante), femidoms, dental dams and also lubricant.  Don’t be shy about signing up for a card condoms are expensive so if you can get them for free why not?!  We also have information on other types of contraception if you need it.

Local Chemists:

If you’re not feeling well but aren’t at death’s door you can save yourself time –and your doctor’s time- but going to speak to a pharmacist about what you can take to self medicate your illness.  This will normally apply to coughs, colds, stomach upsets and other minor ailments.  If you’re not sure where your nearest chemist is check out this handy list.

Student Health:

The Student Health Service is based on the first floor Livingstone Tower on the John Anderson.  Student Health deal primarily with physical and emotional difficulties, relating to a student's academic performance.  It is manned by visiting doctors from the local hospitals so you can sometime see a specialist quicker by going to Student Health that waiting from a referral from you doctor.  Student Health is also a C-card distribution site so if ASK is ever closed and you’re in need of some condoms Student Health will be able to help you out. 

Finding a GP:

While at University it is inevitable that you will feel under the weather or suffer from some kind of illness, often within the first few weeks when Freshers Flu does the rounds.  If you are still living at home you will already have a GP but if you are new to Glasgow you must register with a local GP. 

Where you registry depends on where you live so find one near your accommodation.  Student Health [link] also has GPs you can see as well as being able to help you find a local GP.  It is also important to remember that when you move accommodation around Glasgow that you move GPs to free up space on the list for new students arriving

Hospitals:

You should only go to hospital if you have had an accident or think you have a real emergency case otherwise you will only end up waiting for an awfully long time and potentially take doctors away from people who really need them.  If you aren’t sure whether to go to hospital or wait to see a GP you can call NHS 24 or visit there website to get some advice.  If you do need to go to a hospital here is a list of your options.