The NHS — public healthcare
What the NHS gives free, what prescriptions and dentistry cost, how to register with a GP and what to do in an emergency. Everything we have written on patients’ rights and on what you do pay for.
Articles on this topic: 25
MenB jab for students: free until 31 December, but only 27% have had a first dose
UKHSA published the first coverage report on 1 October: of the 799,840 young people eligible for the free MenB vaccine, 212,549 had had a first dose by 20 September — 26.6%. London is the worst region at 21%. First doses are available until 31 December 2026 and second doses until 31 March 2027.
When do the clocks change in the UK in 2026? 25 October, an hour back
Overnight on Sunday 25 October 2026 the clocks in the UK go back an hour — the night is longer and the evenings get dark at once. RoSPA data shows collisions killing or injuring pedestrians rise 10 per cent in the four weeks that follow. Here is what changes itself, what you change by hand, why the NHS advises vitamin D from October, and how the time difference with calls home shifts.
Baby sleeping bags: UK regulator warns about bags with no arm holes or with a hood
On 1 October 2026 the UK's OPSS issued safety alert PSA9: baby sleeping bags used for unsupervised sleep are dangerous if they have no arm holes or include a hood. The risks are suffocation and overheating. Nearly 50 recalls have been published since 2023. What to check at home and how to get your money back.
Maternity leave and pay in the UK: 52 weeks off, £194.32 a week and what to do if your employer says no
Up to 52 weeks of leave but only 39 weeks of pay, most of it a flat £194.32 a week before tax. Who qualifies for SMP, what Maternity Allowance is, the one date that decides everything (15 weeks before the birth), what fathers get, and how to claim £500 and free prescriptions.
Pharmacy First: seven conditions a pharmacist in England treats without a GP appointment
Earache, sore throat, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, an infected bite and uncomplicated UTI in women — for these seven a pharmacist in England consults and supplies prescription medicines directly. No referral needed, the consultation is free, the medicine costs £9.90 or nothing if you are exempt.
Divorce in England: what it costs, how long it takes, and why 'marry an Englishman and take half' is a myth
A scheme discussed in immigrant chats: marry an Englishman, endure a year, divorce — and leave with half his house. Here is how English family law actually works: divorce has been 'no-fault' since 2022, but no application is accepted before a year of marriage, the process takes at least six months and costs £628, money is divided in separate proceedings with no automatic fifty-fifty, and a visa tied to the marriage dies with it.
Martha's Rule in England's hospitals: how to summon a second medical team when someone is getting worse and nobody is listening
In 2021, 13-year-old Martha Mills died of sepsis in a London hospital: her parents saw her deteriorating, told the doctors — and were not heard. The coroner concluded she would probably have survived had she reached intensive care in time. Since 2024, hospitals in England operate Martha's Rule: the right of a patient or their family to summon an independent rapid review team at any hour, over the heads of the treating team. Here is the story — and how to use the right if English is not your first language.
Healthcare in the UK: what the NHS gives everyone for free, what prescriptions and dentists cost, and who pays under the 150% rule
Two myths circulate about British healthcare: 'everything is free here' and 'you can't see a doctor without insurance'. Both are wrong. A GP appointment, the ambulance, A&E and the 111 line are free for everyone — whatever your visa or status — and you can register with a GP without proof of address or right to reside. The pharmacy and the dentist, though, have their own tariffs: a prescription is £9.90 per item, dental work runs £27.90 to £332.10, and visitors who never paid the IHS surcharge get billed for hospital care under the 150% rule. The whole system, with the numbers.
A sponsor licence for employers: £611 for small business, a £525 certificate and up to £1,320 a year in charges — how to hire from abroad
Only an employer with a sponsor licence can hire from abroad — including EU citizens who arrived after 2020. The GOV.UK rules: prices for small and large businesses, certificates of sponsorship, the Immigration Skills Charge, the 8-week timeline and the duties that get licences revoked.
Skilled Worker visa in 2026: the £41,700 threshold, who qualifies at £33,400, what it costs and how to bring family
The UK's main work visa in 2026: a salary threshold of £41,700 or your job's going rate, discounts down to £33,400 for the young and shortage occupations, English now at B2, fees from £819 plus £1,035 a year for the NHS. The GOV.UK rules on who qualifies, what it costs and which family members can come.
NHS dentist costs in England in 2026: £27.90 for a check-up, £332.10 for a crown — and how to get an appointment
NHS dental charges do not depend on how many procedures you have: there are three bands — £27.90, £76.60 and £332.10 — and you pay only for the highest one. What each band covers, why you cannot register with a dentist, who to call in pain, who is treated free, and the tick-box that brings a £100 penalty.
Sick pay in the UK in 2026: paid from day one, up to £123.25 a week
Since 6 April 2026 the three unpaid waiting days are gone and the earnings threshold has been scrapped: SSP is available to every eligible employee. The rate is 80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25 a week, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks. Who qualifies, when you need a fit note, what the self-employed can claim and where to complain if an employer refuses.
UK state pension set to pass £13,000 — and overtake the tax-free allowance for the first time
The ONS has published wage growth for May to July: 3.9% including bonuses, the weakest since 2020. It is the first of the triple lock's three numbers, and on it the full new State Pension rises from £241.30 to £250.70 a week from April 2027 — £13,037 a year. The Personal Allowance is frozen at £12,570, so a pensioner with no other income gets a tax bill for the first time: around £93.
What changes from 1 October: six things that will touch almost everyone
Energy bills rise £60 a year, but VAT on electricity goes to zero. Right-to-work checks extend to couriers and subcontractors. The tribunal time limit doubles to six months. Date by date — plus three deadlines to meet.
Free NHS flu jab from 1 October: who is on the list — and why 56% of eligible adults skip it
The national booking service opened on 17 August, children and pregnant women have been vaccinated since 1 September, and everyone else on the list can book from 1 October. Almost 19 million jabs last season prevented an estimated 104,000 hospital admissions — yet only 44% of at-risk adults aged 18 to 64 took one.
The Autumn Budget lands on 28 October: what is already confirmed
The Budget is set for Wednesday 28 October 2026 and will be delivered by Chancellor John Healey — his first as Chancellor. Several measures are already named: £2 single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January 2027, zero VAT on electricity from 1 October, and a 20% business rates cut for pubs from April 2027. The rest is still rumour — and that is where the biggest sums sit.
The 31st National Television Awards: the winners in full, and what to watch
The NTAs were handed out at The O2 on 8 September — the only British television awards decided by the public rather than a jury. Special Recognition for Alan Carr, TV Presenter for Sir David Attenborough, Comedy for Mrs Brown’s Boys, Talent Show for Strictly. The full list, six programmes for newcomers, and where to watch them free.
Royal week: Prince George starts at Eton, Prince William at King Harald's funeral
On 8 September the eldest son of the Prince and Princess of Wales began at Eton, as his father did in 1995. On 9 September Prince William represented King Charles III at the funeral of King Harald V in Oslo, with the Princess Royal attending as godmother to the new King Haakon VIII. We are starting a standing royal file.
Universal Credit: who can claim, what it pays, and why many people must not apply
The standard allowance runs from £338.58 to £666.97 a month, savings are capped at £16,000, and every £1 earned cuts the payment by 55p. But first things first: most visas carry a no recourse to public funds condition, and claiming without the right damages your visa. How to check your condition and what to do if you have no right to claim.
England, Britain or the UK: the difference, and where it costs money
England is one of four countries; Great Britain is an island with three of them; the state is the United Kingdom, and UK is what goes on your forms. There is no "England visa" — it works in all four. But prescriptions cost £9.90 an item in England and nothing in the other three, and Scotland runs its own six-rate income tax scale.
Starting out in Britain: nine guides checked against the public registers
A bank account without proof of address, a credit record from zero, a free NHS interpreter, the home rate for university, school after VAT, work and pay, and doctors and restaurants checked against the registers. All of it in one place, in the order in which the questions come up.
Where to buy the food you grew up with in London: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Baltic shops
Curd cheese, soured cream, buckwheat, salo, borodinsky bread, dumplings, caviar, Georgian wine. We checked every address against the shops' own websites and the government's Food Standards Agency register — and listed separately the ones that did not check out.
Russian-speaking doctors and clinics in London: eight addresses checked against the registers
Every clinic checked against CQC, every named clinician against the GMC and GDC, every legal entity against Companies House. Where Russian really is spoken, where only the website has been translated, and why a chain advertising sixteen locations is registered for four. Plus one clinic that is not on the list, and how to check such a place yourself.
An NHS interpreter is free — and you can register with a GP without a single document
We checked the most common beliefs about the NHS against primary sources. The practice must book the interpreter, and nobody under 16 may do the job. Registering with a GP needs no passport, no address and no immigration status, and a refusal must be explained in writing within 14 days. And five minutes on the GMC, GDC and CQC registers separate a real doctor from a good-looking website.
Health in Britain: how to register with a doctor, what is free on the NHS and free medicines
How to register with a GP, what the NHS gives everyone for free, and who does not pay for medicines. With links to official NHS services.