Update the medical & GP details held on your Hall files

I hope you have had a chance now to register with a GP (doctor) in the local area. If you have, please update the records we hold on your medical details form: call into the office behind reception during working hours, or email details of your new GP to info.connaught@london.ac.uk.

Now that you've moved in and got to know us a little, you might also feel more comfortable disclosing medical conditions to us. Again, you can do this in person or via email.

If it's easier for you, you can also just re-send us a completed, updated medical details form.

Medical details form: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8aHo3-r-MQLR2Z5QkhXWTlPaUE

If we hold accurate, up-to-date medical details about you, we'll be better able to help you in an emergency.

If you are unwell

As the 'flu season approaches, and coughs & colds become more common, here are some reminders about how to get help if you're unwell.


FIRST AID

If you need a first aider in Hall (or help of any kind), always ask at reception; don't rely on text messages, emails, or knocking on a first aider's door. There is always someone on duty in the Hall, 24 hours every day, and reception will be able to contact the right person for you.

First aiders in Hall: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8aHo3-r-MQLa1o4YWxiVUQ5d2s

URGENT HEALTHCARE

We have a poster outlining how to get urgent medical care in London using the National Health Service. The best first point of contact for health advice is NHS 111 (just call 111 from any telephone) or the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/symptom-checker/.

Urgent healthcare in London: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8aHo3-r-MQLXzZjb3pYd0ZrU2M

MENINGITIS

First-year university students are a high risk group for contracting meningitis ? a serious infectious disease. Be aware of the symptoms and signs of meningitis, and seek urgent medical help if you?re worried.

Meningitis symptoms & signs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8aHo3-r-MQLT3ktcGE2RnAteWc

YES, I'M A DOCTOR

But I cannot offer medical consultations in hall to residents. This post explains why - http://connaughthall.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/medical-problems-in-hall.html.

FAQ: How does the health service work in England?

Most healthcare in England is free of charge on the National Health Service if you’re a student planning to stay for longer than six months.

To make best use of the health service, you must be registered with a general practitioner (GP). We very strongly urge you to register with a GP within your first few weeks in London.

If you need urgent healthcare advice or treatment, check out this guidance: http://goo.gl/4JIujo.

Some colleges operate their own health service:

• UCL: University Health Centre – telephone 020 7387 6306. 
• LSE: Health Service – telephone 020 7955 7016. 

Other colleges are affiliated to 20 Gower Street Practice – telephone 020 7636 7628:

• ALL OTHERS (excluding UCL and LSE). 
• KCL: Register at 20 Gower Street or at one of the three KCL Health Centres. Contact KCL for further details

Medical problems in Hall

As many of you know, in addition to being your Warden at Connaught Hall, I am an accident & emergency doctor at University College Hospital. This often leads to residents asking me for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment here in Hall.

With two small exceptions, I do not provide a medical service for Connaught Hall residents.

It can perhaps be a bit confusing or disappointing for residents when I say I cannot help with their medical problems ("But, you are a doctor, aren't you?"). So I hope this blog post will help explain why in most cases I am unable to diagnose or treat medical problems in Hall.

First, those two exceptions:

1. I can help with minor first aid problems like bruises, cuts, and burns in the same way that a first-aid trained layperson can.

2. I will provide an enhanced level of care -- as a doctor -- in immediately life-threatening situations such as a very severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

I will not, however, take a proper medical history, perform a physical examination, take any tests, nor prescribe any drugs in my capacity as your Warden. I will be just as likely as any of the Senior Members to advise that you see your GP or attend hospital for proper medical attention.

This is why:

1. The University of London does not insure me to provide medical services. That means that if I make a mistake and you suffer harm as a result, you would not be able to claim compensation from an insurance policy - you could only claim against me personally, which unfortunately will not get you very much compensation!

2. A doctor cannot -- in most cases -- reach a safe, accurate diagnosis without performing a physical examination. But for me to do that would normally step over the line of acceptable physical contact between a Warden and a student resident. The University would not support me in doing that.

3. Furthermore, when I see patients in my hospital job, I have access to tests and diagnostic measures such as X-rays, ECGs,  and blood tests. It would be wrong for me to try and "guess" what is wrong with you without these tests.

4. In many cases when a doctor examines a patient, we will have a chaperone present for the protection of both the patient and the doctor. I do not have access to a chaperone in Hall.

5. Your GP has the benefit of access to your previous medical notes, which can be vitally important in making a correct diagnosis or deciding on the correct treatment plan. I do not have access to your medical history.

6. When you consult a doctor in hospital or a GP surgery, details of what happened will be recorded for future reference on your medical file. I cannot make entries in your medical notes from the Hall.

7. The General Medical Council requires that doctors in the UK must always keep contemporaneous medical records on every patient encounter, and communicate what happened in every encounter to the patient's primary care provider (usually their GP). I do not have the resources to do that in Hall, so I would be at risk of breaking my profession's rules of conduct.

Having said all of that, one last thing I can sometimes help with is in providing very broad, general advice about drugs you might have been prescribed by your doctor (i.e. how they work, how long it might take to get better, etc) or -- again -- broad and general information about medical conditions. But I must stress that I cannot provide private medical consultations in Hall.