What should I expect regarding healthcare and treatment if I return to the UK after living in Thailand for years?

As someone who was in a similar position a few years back a lot of the comments here are just rubbish, yes the NHS is overloaded but if you have a serious health concern you will stil get treated fairly quickly. It really boils down to what the health condition is and the severity. but yes if urgent you will get seen quickly. Id also say little as possible about living elsewhere just act like it didnt happen and if you somehow get pulled up on it then you make some excuses.

You will almost certainly be registered at the same UK GP practice as when you left UK. You may just find it a bit harder to actually get an appointment.

You are better off staying in Thailand.

I was there 11 years, got the kids went back to Uk.

Got my few things sorted,

Cancer found, prostate, 3-4. Very lucky 7 years now after treatment.very lucky.

But if something is telling you to return!!

Trust your self.

Go back.

It worked for me.

12 years now still not gone back.

Do register with a GP immediately. Everybody has a right for primary care on presentation (in person, not on presentation of documents). Hospitals may however require further documents proving entitlement to care but by then you will be likely a resident in uk for 3 months and entitled to care (GP referrals are usually not scrutinised though). We complain about the NHS however when things go wrong privately, treatments abroad, not insurance covered or uninsurable it always fall on the NHS to pick up the pieces.

As usual on arsebook a load of nonsense and uniformed replys. A friend of mine returned to Uk recently after living here years. Sadly riddled with cancer and was treated immediately and treated well. NHS not perfect but not as bad as the MSM and clowns on this site would have you believe. Good luck.

To be honest we’re ever your staying in the uk just phone 111 and tell them your in pain and they will take you in to AE then you will get a local go

Lots of praise for Thai healthcare in this forum. But NONE of the health insurers will cover any pre existing condition. Hence some of us may need to use the NHS.

I came back from Thailand a few years ago. Initially stayed with family and registered with a GP. Did not need to see one -just got back into the system in case I did.

The official answer.

You will get immediate access to NHS treatment once you have a U.K. address and say you have returned permanently. Health is devolved so organisation is different in England, Wales, Scotland and N Ireland.

First step wherever you are is to register with a GP, which should be easy.

After that it depends where you are. The system is pretty much on its knees after years of chronic underfunding but it does vary in different parts of each country. You’ll need to check the situation in the area you intend to live.

If you ever need Social Care the situation is even worse. The elderly are warehoused and treated abysmally in many parts of the country. There can be waits of a year or more for home carers to allow people to go out of hospital.

Don't go back if your health is poor, stay here. I have been waiting 10 months, so far, for a hearing test and diagnosed 13 years ago with osteoarthritis and not even on the waiting list yet for new knees. It is impossible to get a GP appointment and you can wait 17 hours plus in A&E to be seen. I am sorry to paint such a bleak picture but these are the facts, you are better off here. Best of luck with your health.

Don't know if this will be of much help.

After 23 years retired in Thailand I went home to Ireland for a holiday in 2020 and found myself caught up in the COVID lockdown. I got myself an address and attended a clinic for a Vaccination. It was a "Primary Health/Care Clinic"... so I registered myself with it... They asked me to return for a "Blood Test"... long story short...they discovered I had Type 2 Diabetes...a Prostate problem...High Blood Pressure...and Heart Fluctuations....

So there you have it...4 years later,... I have just received my 2nd biopsy on the prostate (2 days ago).... Am attending a hospital for Diabetic tests and retina screening...and a different hospital for ECG's on the heart.

I only return now to Thailand for holidays.

I suppose, my main advice would be...Try and get yourself registered with a "Primary Care Clinic" or similar...if they have them in the UK...They make all the appointments necessary and take care of the "smaller stuff like doctor's appointments etc., including Chiropody. I am at this point on 7 tablets a day.

All this is free...because of my age, I was able to apply for and received a Medical Card...I also get free travel on the public transport system like busses and trains all over the country (all pensioners do here).

At one point, I returned to Thailand (I missed it so much) and renewed my yearly Retirement Extension. I had intended to pack it all in and give up all the hospital appointments, tests, visits to doctors etc.,here...and ...just die over there...but luckily, I came to my senses and decided I could not look a gift horse in the mouth and instead developed an "attitude of gratitude".

To the person who made the OP... I sincerely wish you all the success in the world in your "new life"...You never know, it might lead to "new adventures"...G.B.

Take your chances here dude, people who are admitted to hospital in the UK rarely come out.

I would just visit a hospital/ doctor in the area you intend living in . Contact the local social services if you need them .

Get to the back of the line

Immigrants come 1st

You can’t be serious about going back to UK for medical attention, you’ll wait 3 weeks for a GP appointment, assuming you can get through on the phone!! Then you’ll jump through hoops seeing a variety of specialists, starting with the least expensive option, then if you need surgery you’ll probably wait 3 years, after which you’ll be discharged after a day and left to fend for yourself no matter how incapacitated you are!! Forget it, stay here!! Go back there, dead within a year!!

Best wishes on returning to good health.

Im sorry to say , but all of the answers above are true !., i would stay in thailand if you can.👍😁

I’ve recently just been to the A&E Emergency here in the UK from the start to finish took by the time that they know their tests and results. I was admitted to hospital which was 14 hours but then I was told there was 55 people in front of me waiting for a bed so then I had to wait another 16 hours to get a bed. Personally, if you can afford the Treatment in Thailand, stay there.

Cancer diagnosis is poor in UK it seems but treatment is good, so get tests in Thailand first

The least you tell them the better. Just prove where your staying, address. I presume your over UK retirement age. So you must be getting a UK state pension. First thing you'll need to do is phone the DWP and tell them your back living in the UK, they'll ask for your address and you should get some sort of correspondence from them fairly quickly, which will have your UK address on the letter head. That is proof to a GP surgery of where you are now living.

The criteria is if you’ve not used the system for three years you have lost entitlement anyway. Best bet is to re-enter in a small dinghy on the south coast

Unfortunately the NHS is strangled due to mismanagement and outdated systems. You will need to register with a Dr andbthen get referred which can take 6 months or more and expect multiple appointments before any sort of meaningful treatment. They are however very good for the terminally ill.

If your a British citizen and regardless of how long you've lived abroad, coming back to live in the UK you are entitled to emergency treatment, be it hospital or at a GP surgery. Having said that if you require emergency treatment your going to need a hospital not a GP surgery. Also after you register with a GP surgery, as I believe if you see a doctor and it's not for emergency treatment, supposedly you have to pay a charge, plus pay for prescriptions. Now I came back to the UK after 15 years living abroad. At first I stayed at my niece's home and just went into the GP surgery she uses. Asked if they had any places, was told they had. All I had to do was show id drivers licence or passport, or a letter from the DWP with my name and my niece's address. Job done, straight back into the system.

Remember if you have been out of the UK for more then 3 months you are no longer entitled to free NHS, or GP treatment until you have stayed in the UK for a set period of time

Do I lose access to NHS if I live abroad?

Your entitlement depends on if you want to live abroad permanently or work outside the UK for a set period only. You might get help within the EU if you receive a UK State Pension or some other UK benefits. You'll not be entitled to state-provided medical care paid for by the UK if you move outside the EU.

If you can afford to I think you would get much better treatment in Thailand.

NHS is in a really bad way and you also have to consider if you would qualify for free treatment after such a long time overseas

For health care, better to stay in Thailand. As with many of the comments above, the system in uk has deteriorated massively. No appointment, doctors always on strike. Waiting lists are ridiculous. If coming back you may need to consider private health care. At least in Thailand, despite the procedures making little sense, it works.

Have you paid your national insurance that entitles you to have NHS treatment 🤔🤔

I came all the way back because I thought I was going to get better care when I got here they wanted to do way less to help than the doctors in Thailand were going to do for me.

It will be 14 months before I have a appointment with the hospital for my problem with my back and hip the country has gone to the dogs 😒😒

Nhs full of immigrants clogging up the system even AE have waiting times over 5 hours

The healthcare system is much easier in Thailand. Since I came back after 1 year this time, I can’t get an appointment and pharmacists here will not help like

They do in Thailand, the waits have gone up massively over 15 years and a lot is remotely or phone call explaining symptoms, just get registered and book appointment and ask for your information maybe from Thailand about your condition to pass over?

Once you have an address in UK you should be able to register. Waiting times for referrals/ consultations can be lengthy.