# hospital procedure



## makisaana4u (Apr 10, 2011)

HI All,

am happy to find such a forum site which is helping people like me.

THanks in advance.

I wanted to know if it is true that before i go to a hospital for any treatment, i need to get approval from the local GP.

and need to have a prescription from him to get my medicines from the pharmacy.

Thanks,
BR,
- MAQ


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Hi and welcome

You will need a letter of referral from the doctor/specialist that has been treating your symptoms for the hospital, you just can't turn up and say you want an operation. The surgeon should be the one to prescribe what medication you need after your op
Hope all goes well for you


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

makisaana4u said:


> HI All,
> 
> am happy to find such a forum site which is helping people like me.
> 
> ...


Under NHS, your GP has to 'refer' you to a hospital for further investigation and treatment. You will simply be told you are being referred, and you hear from a hopital with an out-patient appointment. If it's an emergency, your GP can order an ambulance to take you straight to hospital, or someone can call for an ambulance to take you to A&E, where they assess you and if necessary admit you as in-patient (and your GP will be informed).
If you are a private patient or have a private medical insurance, you can contact a consultant direct for a consultation. The same consultant cannot then treat you under NHS, and all fees become payable by you or your insurance company.

For most medicines (called prescription-only medicine or POM), you need a prescription from your doctor to get it dispensed by a chemist (pharmacist). There are certain medicines which anyone can buy, called over-the-counter medicine (OTC), such as aspirin, ibuprofen, antacid etc.


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## makisaana4u (Apr 10, 2011)

Thanks alot.... this really helped and cleared alot of things.

actually situation is ... my nephew is suffering from fever 104 degree since last week and the GP advised no medication, and 2 days ago he was hospitalized, and is under treatment.

why is it so late that they start the medication.
i heard that the systems in UK is different than others. they do not want to give the antibiotics so early, and would like to see if the child gets recovered by himself without them. is it true.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

makisaana4u said:


> Thanks alot.... this really helped and cleared alot of things.
> 
> actually situation is ... my nephew is suffering from fever 104 degree since last week and the GP advised no medication, and 2 days ago he was hospitalized, and is under treatment.
> 
> ...


In the UK they tend to reduce the temperature first and foremost with paracetamol, keeping the patient cool, plenty of water to drink and rest, to allow the body to use its own defences if possible. If the problem persists, they then find out the cause of the temperature. If its an infection that will respond to antibiotics then thats what they treat it with. However, if its a virus, antibiotics dont work, so its pointless giving them - for example, if someone has a temperature due to a cold or flu, then they are caused by viruses and antibiotics are useless, also they tend not to give antibiotics for ear or throat infections much anymore cos they've realised that in most cases, they dont help. Too much and too many antibiotics tend to become non-effective after a while as bodies and the infections build up an immunity to them. So in the UK, yes there is a reluctance to use them unless they're going to work. However. if there are enough obvious symptoms, they may, if they're concerned give an initial injection of anitbiotics

Jo xxx


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## makisaana4u (Apr 10, 2011)

wow!!! this was crystal clear for me..... thanks Jo !!! i was expecting the same reasons you mentions but no one was able to explain it to me clearly......

thank you all for all your support...


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