Student Health

Registration / Prescription Charges / Counselling Service / Sexual Health / Travel Vaccinations

We offer a full General Practice service for all Lancaster University students, and their dependents who live on campus or within the Practice area. Consultations take place both at the health centre on campus and at the  King Street surgery in town (see homepage). All consultations are absolutely confidential and information will not be given to University staff, parents or other interested parties without your express permission.

During the Holidays

Like all General Practices we are open all year. However, if you are out of Lancaster during the holidays, you can obtain treatment from a local GP by registering with them as a temporary patient.
 

Please do not register with your GP at home during the holidays as this disrupts the service we can give you on your return. When you leave university you can register then.

Registration

Prior to attending Lancaster University you will have been sent a registration questionnaire and advised to register with a local General Practice. If you still haven't registered you can download, print, and complete the following questionnaire. This can then be left at the reception of either the Health Centre or the King Street surgery.

New Patient Questionnaire

Prescription Charges

Full time students under the age of 19 automatically qualify for free NHS prescriptions. If you are 19 or over and on a low income you can apply for an HC2 (full) or HC3 (limited) certificate for help with NHS charges using form HC1 available from our reception staff. You can also request a form online by following this link. If you have not applied for the certificate or are waiting to receive one, they usually take about 4 weeks, you will have to pay for your prescription. You can reclaim the fee if you get a receipt using form FP57 from the pharmacist at the time that you get your prescription and make your claim within 3 months.

Some people with long-term medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy and hypothyroidism are eligible for free prescriptions, otherwise you will be charged by the pharmacist for each item on your prescription.

All prescriptions for contraception are free including emergency contraception. However this does not include condoms which cannot be prescribed, but you can get them free from local family planning clinics. Details of family planning clinics held in Lancaster can be found on the contraception page.

 

Student Counselling Service

As well as the counselling, support, help and advice that you can receive from the doctors and nurses at the Health Centre you can also go to the Student Counselling Service who are specialised in counselling students and have a great deal of knowledge skill and expertise. You usually contact them yourself to make an appointment either on the advice of your doctor or because you recognise a need yourself. The Student Counselling Service adheres to the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy code of professional ethics and is absolutely confidential. Follow the links for more details of this service.

Appointments with a counsellor can be made by calling in at the office, B105 Furness College, or by telephoning during office hours, extension 92690 (external 592690). An answer phone operates at other times.

Sexual Health

You don't need to have a lot of sexual partners to get a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Sex just once with someone who has an infection can be enough.

Common signs of an STI are:

* unusual discharge of liquid from vagina or penis
* pain or burning when you urinate
* itching, rashes, lumps or blisters around the genitals
* low abdominal pain
* pain or bleeding during or after sex.

However, symptoms vary and many people have no symptoms at all.

Link to NHS website answering questions about sexual infections

Most STI's can be completely cured if found early enough. However, if left untreated they can be painful and uncomfortable or at worst cause permanent damage to your health and your fertility.

What is important is that you contact your general practice or a genitourinary medicine (GUM)/sexual health clinic as soon as possible. Information and tests are free and confidential. If you go to your general practice, you may have to pay a prescription charge for treatment.

Local GUM Clinic opening times, addresses, and contact number

Travel Vaccinations

Although some travel vaccinations are available on the NHS, many are not. Patients travelling abroad are advised to complete a travel form (available from reception and by clicking on the link below) and make a travel advice appointment, so that the nurses can advise you of any NHS or non-NHS vaccinations you might need. You will need to return the completed travel form at least 2 days prior to your appointment to give the nurse the opportunity to decide which vaccines you need prior to your appointment. Both types of vaccination are available, although there will be a charge for non-NHS vaccinations.

The below PDF files will be of interest.

Travel Questionnaire & Vaccination Information

non-NHS Vaccine Costs

General Travel Advice