Limited Medical Records

[Thomas and Rachel 2]

I am in an unfortunate position where my medical records are quite severely limited. My previous GP claims they never received the medical records from my GP before them and they have now struck me off the register now that I have just graduated university and refuse to speak to me or offer any help. Meanwhile the NHS authority from where I was registered before them is adamant they sent them my medical records. This means that I basically don't have any medical records before the age of 18 (I am currently 22) apart from what we in the UK call the "little red book" which is basically a childhood record up to about age 7. In the last 4 years I have only ever had one minor complaint that went nowhere and I wasn't exactly a frequent user of medical services before that, no serious health conditions, no real interaction with the NHS aside from a couple of trips to A&E (emergency room) after the typical minor teenage accidents.

 

My medical is in London on the 14th of October, having tried to get hold of my medical records or even someone who will just try to help me rather than giving me stock responses for 3 months I've basically given up hope of ever getting my medical records back. This includes my vaccine records unfortunately (except for covid 19).

 

What on earth should I do? Am I going to be alright or could this cause a visa denial? I have heard that technically K-1 visa applicants don't need evidence of all our vaccines but I can't find confirmation of this.

[Elzmd 7]

Have you called the Visa Medicals place to enquire about it? They were quite helpful on the phone with my own queries, and they may have an answer for you. When I had mine they only cared for a brief summary of the last few years, which you should be able to get from a current GP as just a 'medical summary' and not entire medical records (unless there's something that comes up as an underlying health condition, etc, which I can't answer for). I also don't have a red book, if I did I don't know where it was but I managed to get a print out of my vaccination record anyway. Does your book have your childhood vaccines in it? You might cover a lot of them that way and can pay for the extra ones there that they need you to have, iirc.

[Thomas and Rachel 2]

2 minutes ago, Elzmd said:

Have you called the Visa Medicals place to enquire about it? They were quite helpful on the phone with my own queries, and they may have an answer for you. When I had mine they only cared for a brief summary of the last few years, which you should be able to get from a current GP as just a 'medical summary' and not entire medical records (unless there's something that comes up as an underlying health condition, etc, which I can't answer for). I also don't have a red book, if I did I don't know where it was but I managed to get a print out of my vaccination record anyway. Does your book have your childhood vaccines in it? You might cover a lot of them that way and can pay for the extra ones there that they need you to have, iirc.

Thank you so much for the reply, it's good to hear they only cared about the last few years as I've got that even if it's just a single note about a check-up that went nowhere.

 

Aye I called them about it, they said that without looking at the file they were unsure if they could accept it or not (guess that's what they have to say) and kept their cards somewhat close to their chest while talking about it which is fair enough, don't want to promise anything they'd have to walk back if it wasn't quite good enough. My red book has my childhood vaccines in it up to I think about age 7 or 8. I don't have any records of the teenage vaccines though, I guess I could see if they would give them all to me again at the medical check but getting 5+ vaccines in a day sounds quite extreme and probably more than a bit costly.

[Elzmd 7]

I think if you get what you can, they'll be able to advise and help you when you get there. It was a nightmare trying to get everything from my own GP and eventually I got access online but it only dated back to about 2016, and I didn't even need to show these several pages I got printed anyway, just the nice summary explaining current medications, last several visits and reasons, general information etc.

 

I had all my vaccinations so I can't really help there, and it likely will get a bit costly if you need to have multiple, you're right. But without them being able to confirm what you've had I don't think there's a way around it, and some members on here have suggested it be much easier to get it done with the medical place instead of waiting to be in the US. I believe they're wanting Covid vaccinations as of the 1st October there too, so if you've had that, take some evidence of it (you can get it printed from NHS app).

[SuznAaron 121]

1 hour ago, Thomas and Rachel said:

Thank you so much for the reply, it's good to hear they only cared about the last few years as I've got that even if it's just a single note about a check-up that went nowhere.

 

Aye I called them about it, they said that without looking at the file they were unsure if they could accept it or not (guess that's what they have to say) and kept their cards somewhat close to their chest while talking about it which is fair enough, don't want to promise anything they'd have to walk back if it wasn't quite good enough. My red book has my childhood vaccines in it up to I think about age 7 or 8. I don't have any records of the teenage vaccines though, I guess I could see if they would give them all to me again at the medical check but getting 5+ vaccines in a day sounds quite extreme and probably more than a bit costly.

We are older than you but my husband's childhood records were destroyed in a fire. Yes he had to get the required vaccines for his age. You can do them ahead of time at your own GP or get them at the VISA medicals. 

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

@Wuozopo wasn't it you who had quite some knowledge around the London medical procedures?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

On 9/27/2021 at 5:08 AM, Thomas and Rachel said:

My medical is in London on the 14th of October, having tried to get hold of my medical records or even someone who will just try to help me rather than giving me stock responses for 3 months I've basically given up hope of ever getting my medical records back. This includes my vaccine records unfortunately (except for covid 19).

 

What on earth should I do? Am I going to be alright or could this cause a visa denial? I have heard that technically K-1 visa applicants don't need evidence of all our vaccines but I can't find confirmation of this.

 

On 9/27/2021 at 8:04 AM, Letspaintcookies said:

@Wuozopo wasn't it you who had quite some knowledge around the London medical procedures?

You don’t need all your medical records. You need a printout from NHS of your Summary Care Record. It may not have much on it, but that’s all they want. From experiences discussed in the UK forum, people who had no record and were nationals of other countries who had not ever been to the doctor in the UK were told to go register with a GP, then bring a print of the SCR even it it was blank! How does that make any sense? But more than one was told that by the visa medical  clinic. So yours with a little bit of information on it should do fine. If you were on meds for something current like blood pressure or depression, it would show up and that’s mostly what they are interested in. 
 

Immunizations: The medical clinic website used to say the Little Red Book was a valid record of jabs so take that. But immunizations are pretty easy. Going to copy/paste from another post I answered and modify it for you since your interview is after Oct 1 and his was before. 
 

Becker you are allowed waivers for shots “not age appropriate” (Polio, Rotavirus, Hib, Hep A, Hep B, Meningococcal, Pneumococcal) .Don’t need the shots or proof of ever having them.
Waiver for influenza “not flu season” (exam before Oct 1) OP you need a flu jab from a place like Boots or at the visa clinic. NHS won’t give to under 50 hrs old.

Waiver for varicella “not readily available” Or tell them you had chickenpox.  (because they don’t give that in the UK)

So on Oct 14  that leaves you these jabs to prove you’ve had.

• MMR (mumps/measles/rubella). MMR you probably had as a baby and it’s recorded in your Little Red Book.
• Tdap (Tetanus/diphtheria/ pertussis) Tdap needs a Tetanus/diphtheria booster if your shot was more than 10 years ago. The booster they give in the UK is named Revaxis
• Covid Vax- Fully vaccinated with both shots  Or 1 shot if it was Johnson&Johnson. Bring your card.
• Flu shot (get wherever cheapest and bring written proof)
• Varicella (just tell them you had chickenpox for a waiver. Everybody in the UK gets pox so they will take your word for it.

 

The official information is found in the Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians. . https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/panel-physicians/vaccinations.html

[Thomas and Rachel 2]

22 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

You don’t need all your medical records. You need a printout from NHS of your Summary Care Record. It may not have much on it, but that’s all they want. From experiences discussed in the UK forum, people who had no record and were nationals of other countries who had not ever been to the doctor in the UK were told to go register with a GP, then bring a print of the SCR even it it was blank! How does that make any sense? But more than one was told that by the visa medical  clinic. So yours with a little bit of information on it should do fine. If you were on meds for something current like blood pressure or depression, it would show up and that’s mostly what they are interested in. 
 

Immunizations: The medical clinic website used to say the Little Red Book was a valid record of jabs so take that. But immunizations are pretty easy. Going to copy/paste from another post I answered and modify it for you since your interview is after Oct 1 and his was before. 
 

 

Becker you are allowed waivers for shots “not age appropriate” (Polio, Rotavirus, Hib, Hep A, Hep B, Meningococcal, Pneumococcal) .Don’t need the shots or proof of ever having them.
Waiver for influenza “not flu season” (exam before Oct 1) OP you need a flu jab from a place like Boots or at the visa clinic. NHS won’t give to under 50 hrs old.

Waiver for varicella “not readily available” Or tell them you had chickenpox.  (because they don’t give that in the UK)

So on Oct 14  that leaves you these jabs to prove you’ve had.

• MMR (mumps/measles/rubella). MMR you probably had as a baby and it’s recorded in your Little Red Book.
• Tdap (Tetanus/diphtheria/ pertussis) Tdap needs a Tetanus/diphtheria booster if your shot was more than 10 years ago. The booster they give in the UK is named Revaxis
• Covid Vax- Fully vaccinated with both shots  Or 1 shot if it was Johnson&Johnson. Bring your card.
• Flu shot (get wherever cheapest and bring written proof)
• Varicella (just tell them you had chickenpox for a waiver. Everybody in the UK gets pox so they will take your word for it.

 

The official information is found in the Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians. . https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/panel-physicians/vaccinations.html

Thank you so much for your reply, sorry for the quick last question but do you think that a summary that only lasts 4 years from my previous GP (GP until approx 6 weeks ago) will be sufficient? I have attempted to reregister but it's not really something I can do right now as I'm planning to leave the UK and no one right now is accepting temporary registration without actual medical need which I don't have.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

50 minutes ago, Thomas and Rachel said:

Thank you so much for your reply, sorry for the quick last question but do you think that a summary that only lasts 4 years from my previous GP (GP until approx 6 weeks ago) will be sufficient? I have attempted to reregister but it's not really something I can do right now as I'm planning to leave the UK and no one right now is accepting temporary registration without actual medical need which I don't have.

Yes I think you will be fine. That’s recent. Is it a summary care record? That’s a standard NHS thing across all surgeries in England.. maybe not for Scotland, not sure. Just tell them that’s all you have if they bring it up. They didn’t even used to ask for anything. I think it is a move to keep you from lying on their questionnaires. If something is on your record, you can’t really skip telling them about it. Same for the police report. If you have drunk driving or pub brawls in your police record, they will question you more about your alcohol use which is part of the mental health component (addictions).