Medical Review - Knightsbridge Doctors

[TJM1994 8]

Good morning all,

I had my medical appointment on Friday 2nd October and thought I would share my experience with you all.

I drove up to Richmond just outside of Twickenham on Friday morning and parked Richmond Deer Park Car Parking, the rate was pretty cheap and its a 5 minute walk to the underground so its a good place to park outside of London if you are coming from the South West and don't fancy paying for the train journey.

I took the tube into Westminster with the intention of changing lines and heading to Bond Street Station however the Jubilee line had severe delays, I therefore found myself running around Westminster through the inevitable crowds of tourists and their cameras trying to hail a cab to take me to Knightsbridge! I managed to get myself a taxi at 10:15 and with my appointment at 10:30 I asked the cab driver to step on it (which is impossible in London anyway). Luckily I made it to the Doctors at 10:30 on the nose and was promptly buzzed in. ( I would recommend leaving yourself extra time in case of delays on the tube etc.)

The receptionist asked for all of my paperwork and for my embassy letter/email. As I had decided to book the medical before I had my embassy letter, I took a print out of the CEAC website that clearly showed that my case was in London. They accepted this without any issue and directed me to the waiting room, clipboard and medical questionnaire in hand. The questionnaire asked some basic questions about past medical history, any previous drug use etc. I completed this in a couple of minutes and handed it back to the receptionist who advised me that the nurse will call me when she is ready.

After another 10 minutes in the waiting room the nurse called me through and discussed my vaccination history with me. She advised me that I needed a flu vaccine (£22) and gave me some information on what strain of flu would be in the vaccine. She also gave me a waiver on the Hib vaccine which I am severely allergic to, I explained what happened to me as a child receiving the Hib vaccine and also pointed out the detail on my vaccination history. Chatting to the nurse I asked her roughly how long it takes for the embassy to receive the results and schedule the interviews. I was told that they take 2-3 days to get the results back from the blood tests and then they go across to the embassy same day. The nurse mentioned that the embassy don't inform Knightsbridge of the current wait times but that Knightsbridge do read Visa Journey and that the wait time was roughly 6 weeks! (Nurse if you are reading I want to thank you for making me feel more at ease!)

I was out of the nurses office in about 10 minutes and back into the waiting room for another 15 minutes until the X-Ray technician called me into his office. I was asked to take my shirt off and press my chest against the X-Ray plate. The whole process took no longer than 30 seconds and the technician showed me the results of the X-Ray. He showed me what he could see and mentioned that there was no scarring or shadows in my lungs which was a good sign. He told me that my X-Ray looked fine but they all had to be reviewed and signed off by the X-Ray doctor before going to the embassy. (The doctor who performed the physical examination did tell me that 99% of the time the technician is right however its just their process to have it signed off by the X-Ray doctor). Back down the corridor I went for another 20 minute wait.

The doctor performing the physical called me into her office and sat me down next to her desk. She went through the DoS medical form with me and asked me some questions about my mental state, any previous drug use, any previous medical conditions. She checked my police report and said that it was all fine and then asked me to take my shoes off and proceeded to take my height and weight. She told me that my BMI was borderline underweight and asked whether I had any eating disorders or was previously diagnosed with any. I was also asked whether my weight tended to fluctuate (which it doesn't) and was then told to make sure I keep eating! I was told to sit on the bed and the doctor proceeded to check my temperature, eyes, ears and mouth. I was then asked to undress to my underwear and lie on the bed. The doctor checked my chest, stomach, legs, feet, arms and back. She then asked me to remove my underwear and quickly checked to make sure there was nothing awry in the downstairs department. I dressed again and was asked to sit up on the bed where I had my bloods taken. I was informed that they would take a couple of days to come back and that if I didn't hear anything from Knightsbridge then that is a good sign. I was directed to reception where I paid and was given my documents back. You are given a couple of DoS forms that you CANNOT lose (it clearly states on the compliments slip attached) so make sure you keep those safe.

All in all I was in and out within about an hour and the experience wasn't as daunting as I thought it would be. All of the staff in Knightsbridge were very professional and made the experience as pleasant as a medical exam can be.

Good luck to all of you going through this process. If you are at this stage then you are nearly there!

[Wors 19]

I have mine on Wednesday, thanks for sharing your experience

[V24 21]

This is so interesting because I recently had mine in the US and she didn't give me any kind of x-Ray and didn't check downstairs, i was also sure I needed more vaccinations but only got a flu shot. Are the requirements different outside of the U.S.?!