United Kingdom
In emergencies call 112 or 999 to obtain help.
Accessing care
With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you can receive medically necessary treatment during a temporary stay in the United Kingdom. Medically necessary treatment means treatment that cannot wait until you return home. You may need such treatment, for example, due to sudden illness or an accident.
You can also receive treatment related to pregnancy, childbirth, or chronic illnesses. If you have a condition that requires regular treatment while you are staying abroad, contact a health care provider in advance to arrange the treatment.
The European Health Insurance Card does not guarantee free treatment and you will be charged the same amount as local residents. We recommend carrying additional copies of your card. If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card or if it is not accepted, you will need to pay the cost of treatment yourself. You can then apply for reimbursement from Kela afterward.
By presenting your European Health Insurance Card, you can obtain treatment in treatment facilities of the NHS. Please note that different rules may apply depending on which part of the country you are visiting.
More information, such as the regional contact information of NHS-contracted doctors, dentists and hospitals is available on the NHS website.
Information about using health services in non-emergency cases is available by calling the United Kingdom´s National Health Service (NHS) service number 111 and also in NHS 111 online service.
It may be difficult to get an appointment with a NSH contracted general practitioner. We recommend having a comprehensive travel insurance when travelling to the United Kingdom.
The European Health Insurance Card does not entitle you to treatment in the Isle of Man or the so-called Channel Islands, i.e. Guernsey (including Guernsey, Alderney, Herm and Sark) or in Jersey, as the islands in question are British Crown Dependencies and do not fall within the sphere of EU or EEA regulations. The following overseas territories also do not belong to the European Union: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Sudden illness
Doctor
If you need to see a doctor, make an appointment with a general practitioner (GP) who has an agreement with the NHS. When you show your European Health Insurance Card and ID at the appointment, treatment is free of charge. To see a specialist you usually need to have a GP´s referral. If your treatment lasts for over 14 days, you need to register as a patient either temporarily (less than three months) or permanently. You can find more information about booking an appointment and registering as a patient on NHS’s web page.
In the case of relatively minor injuries, you can also visit a walk-in centre in larger towns. These will treat you without an appointment free of charge.
You can also call NHS 111 at any time for help in issues relating to health and illnesses. You will be directed to the closest surgery that is open, where you receive the requisite care for your illnesses or injury.
Dentist
If you need dental care, go to a dentist contracted to the NHS. You have to register yourself as a patient before meeting a NHS dentist. When booking an appointment, you should mention that you want treatment as an NHS patient. Show your European Health Insurance Card and ID at the appointment. You will pay a standard non-refundable charge for all NHS dental treatment that is clinically necessary.
Medication
In addition to doctors, nurses are allowed to prescribe medication in the case of minor illnesses. When you go to a pharmacy to collect your prescription medicines, present your European Health Insurance Card and ID. You have to pay a non-refundable charge for prescriptions at the pharmacy. It is possible to get an exemption from the cost of medicine. You can ask your doctor about it when they are writing the prescription. The right to exemption is also checked at the pharmacy.
Hospital care
In general, apart from emergency care you can access hospital treatment if referred by a doctor, a dentist or an optician. In emergencies, you can go directly to the hospital´s Accident & Emergency department. Not all hospitals have one. When you go to a hospital, show your European Health Insurance Card and ID to obtain clinically necessary treatment and medicines free of charge. You can usually choose the hospital, as long as the unit has a contract with the NHS.
In emergencies, ambulance transport to the hospital is free. If your illness requires you to use special transport when returning to Finland, you will be liable for the travel costs in their entirety. You are recommended to take out a travel insurance that covers these costs.
Read more about suddenly falling ill in Europe.
Read more about reimbursement of costs of treatment abroad.
Useful websites
If you want to travel to the United Kingdom for treatment without prior authorisation after 1 January 2021, the UK is not legally obliged to treat you. Find out from the treatment provider whether you will be accepted for treatment and how much the treatment will cost. Please note that Kela will not reimburse any costs incurred from treatment if you have specifically travelled to the UK to use health care services. Instead, you can still seek treatment in the UK if you have prior authorisation from Kela. There is more information on seeking treatment with prior authorisation on our page Seeking treatment abroad with a prior authorisation.
You can search for private physicians, dentists, hospitals and other healthcare providers in the United Kingdom on the Private Healthcare UK website.
You can find information about private physicians on the Specialist Info search service. Relatively few GPs operate in the private sector.
Quality and safety of treatment
- In England, the quality of treatment is monitored by the Care Quality Commission, which monitors and inspects the quality and safety of care given by all healthcare service providers operating in the region. The site also provides regularly updated quality data and reports on all healthcare service providers.
- Treatment provided in Northern Ireland is monitored by the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). RQIA regularly inspects and reviews health and social care providers operating in the region.
- In Scotland, the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) monitors the services provided by the NHS as well as those offered in the private sector.
- The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) is the independent inspectorate and regulator of healthcare in Wales.
In the event of treatment injuries, the legislation and patient insurance of the country providing the treatment is always applied. In case you are unhappy with the treatment you received, you should primarily try to sort the matter out with the treatment provider.
Healthcare system
The regional governments (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) make decisions related to health policy in the United Kingdom. Despite the diversity in the way the systems are organized, some aspects of the regulatory framework continue to operate on a United Kingdom-wide basis in line with European standards.
The National Health Service (NHS) is the responsible organization for public healthcare. Each of the four nations have their own separate NHS that provide health services. Although the volume of services provided in the private sector remains small relative to service provision by NHS providers, it is growing.