If you aren't from the UK, it might be hard to imagine how the system actually works. Do you just rock up at any doctor or hospital when you feel like it? What are the criteria? What's it like being an NHS patient?

The "patient's perspective" in question is mine - I was born and brought up in London, have parents, sisters, a brother, a partner and a 3 year old son who are all ordinarily resident in the UK and therefore NHS patients.



This article looks at how the National Health Service really works in the United Kingdom - specifically, in England. The NHS is split into four parts, for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The differences aren't great, but there are some minor variations.

This hub follows on from two others, the first is called, The National Health Service in the UK: who pays, and who is covered, and details how the NHS was founded in 1948, who is covered by the system, and how much it all costs.

The second, What the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK covers, and what costs patients extra is about what patients pay for medical care, dentistry, and optician's treatment, under the NHS.

