UK Health Service

The primary UK health service is known as the National Health Service or NHS. This service has been in place in the country since 1948 with the aim of offering free medical treatment and services to people living in the UK.

The actual services on offer by any region within the NHS can vary and the areas that make up the UK (i.e. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) all run their own NHS variations. Funding for the NHS in the UK comes from taxes that include the payments that most working people make that are known as National Insurance.

Although virtually every person can have NHS treatment free of charge in the country, individuals also have to bear some of the costs of certain treatments. So, for example, you may have to pay to have your eyes tested, to get a prescription filled out by a chemist or to have a check up at the dentist. There are also many private health care options in the country and some people will opt to go private if they can rather than use the NHS. As an alternative some people will mix and match private and NHS health services. Funding here will either come from the individual or from a specific medical insurance plan or benefit.

Medical services in the UK such as doctors and hospitals may operate on an NHS or private basis. In many cases, however, these services may be combined. So, for example an NHS consultant surgeon may also work for private patients and hospitals and a GP may offer some private services alongside his/her NHS responsibilities.