My Medical Experience a Knightsbridge (London)

[kevecca 2]

I wanted to write a quick post about the experience I had at Knightsbridge Medical, as it turned out to be an overall positive experience! I really had no idea what to expect, and I was quite worried for two reasons: 1) I'm terrified of all things medical, and 2) I have a history of mild mental illness, which I read horror stories about.

For reference, I'm a young (20-something) female who's applying CR-1 spousal visa.

Here's the lowdown:

• My appointment was for 2:30pm, Wednesday December 7. I arrived 30 minutes early and was let in straight away. I went to the front desk and the very kind receptionist took my original paperworks (I brought copies but it was unnecessary). She gave me a cup to pee in and a form to fill out (very similar to the one you bring with you but with a few extra questions). I went to the waiting room, filled out the form, did the urine sample, and gave it all back to her.
• After about 5 minutes of waiting a nurse came in and told me that all of vaccine paperwork looked good and I was up to date (yay!). She was really nice and we chatted about Canada (where I'm from) for a while.
• 5 minutes after that another nurse came in and said she would do some tests, as the doctor was running a bit behind. She kept apologizing for the wait (even though I'd barely been there and I was early). She took my blood pressure, weight, and height, and then sent me to get my x-ray.
• The x-ray was quick and kind of cool. The man doing it was really nice (he was watching Youtube videos when I came in - evidently the Doctor was busier than he was ). He didn't say anything about the x-ray, but it was cool watching it load on the screen.
• 5 minutes of sitting in a second, small waiting room (I had the gown on) the doctor called me in. She asked me basic questions that confirmed my answers on the forms. She asked my questions about my depression and citalopram usage, and asked me to re-iterate that I wasn't suicidal and wrote it all down in the notes section of the form. I had a note from my GP as well, which she read and had copied. She told me they don't really care about mild cases of depression and that it wasn't an issue so long as I've never had suicidal tendencies.
• I had results from an echocardiogram that I had done in 2013 and it was very good that I brought it. I have a normally-functioning heart murmur that is fine and doesn't require treatment or anything, but she copied all the results from my echo down in the notes and confirmed that it was a weak-sounding murmur. I think if I hadn't brought it she would have detected the murmur herself and that could have possibly slowed the process down.
• She took my blood - I advised her that I suck at it but honestly it was fine and she made sure to chat with me while it was happening. She put the blood pressure cuff on while she did it which was super helpful. She then looked over my body, checked my moles and asked what SPF I used (actually, this seemed to be what she was most concerned about - I'm very pale and covered in freckles and moles ), she felt my stomach and legs, checked my heart a billion times, just basic things like that. I did an eye test wearing my contacts, and that was it.
• I put my clothes back on and she did a little recap. She told me that as long as my urine, blood, and x-ray come back normal I'm fine, and that if I don't hear from them it's a good thing.
• I went back into the waiting room and waited for the receptionist to come get me. She gave me back all my documents, plus the paper that confirms your vaccines are up-to-date (which you need to hold onto), and took the payment (honestly the worst part).

Overall, I was in and out in just shy of an hour (!!!) and they all kept apologizing to me for the wait! They were all really really nice, and there was nothing to worry about. I think if you had any problems they would all be willing to do their best to help out.

[JFH 12,189]

*~*~*country-specific thread moved from "DCF" to United Kingdom sub-forum*~*~*

[Kat&Jon 84]

I didn't want to start a new topic for what is the same thing! I am posting on behalf of Jon who had his medical today 12/13/16. Even though I am posting in US time, all times I list below will be in UK local time for when Jon actually attended!

Jon said in general his medical went smooth! The only bumps he had were due to his GP (which I will get into later) and his train to get into London!

He had a train scheduled for 7:30 AM from Norwich to London Liverpool Street. The train was cancelled due to a freight train that was stuck somewhere on the line so they put him on a train to Kings Cross. He arrived in London with no other delay around 10:30 AM. His medical was scheduled for 11:30 AM.

Since Jon ended up in Kings Cross instead of London Liverpool Street, where I had provided him step by step instructions on where to go (he didn't want to be lost and he relied on my OCD to get him there LOL), he opted for a cab rather than mess with the underground and possibly get lost (even though it was a simple change). The cab cost him £11 which isn't bad for a London Cab IMO.

Jon arrived at Knightsbridge 30 mins early and they let him right in. He spoke to the receptionist who took his documents to scan and make copies and was provided all his documents back. He waited for a small amount of time for the first nurse who called him into the back and explained to him that he was missing an MMR shot. (Enter GP Bumps that were costly) Jon had sent me back in October a copy of his shot records where I saw that he didn't have his second MMR on there so I told him he would need his Tdap (because it had been more than 10 years), flu (because of medical in flu season), and MMR. When he scheduled his shots through the NHS they told him flat out he didn't need his MMR and that they wouldn't give it to him. I assumed from this that I just missed the MMR on his print out so we went with it. Knightsbridge confirmed he still needed his 2nd MMR shot so they gave it to him there and charged him a whopping £50 for it!!!! Lesson from this is make sure, regardless of what your GP says, if the visa requires a shot and you can't see it on your print out, GET IT ANYWAY!!!! Shots from Knightsbridge are ridiculously overpriced!!! Rant Over!

After the super nice nurse that provided him his shot, he was sent to another another room where he had to undress and get in a hospital gown. His wait was very short, only a couple of minutes before the doctor came in. Jon made note that the first thing the doctor asked him was "Are you wearing underwear?". Jon was checked for rashes, breathing, eyes, ears, throat, and blood pressure. He then did an eye test where Jon discovered his left eye is quite a bit weaker than his right, but apparently he does not need glasses for it! They took a blood sample and it was on to the next part. They also measured his height and weight and he made sure to tell me lost 8 kilos since his last way in back in September! (we are in a challenge to lose weight before the wedding)

After this bit Jon was met by another nurse who took the x-ray. He did state that they push you up against the machine but it was not uncomfortable for him.

After the xray was taken he was lead back to the waiting room to pay. He had to drop £340 due to the cost of the medical AND the MMR shot... stupid GP!!!! They were having a temporary issue with taking cards so he had an extra 10 minute wait while they reset it so he could pay with his Debit Card.

All in all Jon said it was easy and the only annoying part was getting the MMR shot that he was told he wouldn't need and couldn't get! The extra £50 was an annoying blow, but it would save us extra in the long run not having to mess with a local Civil Surgeon (hopefully). Jon also confirmed that he received the documentation back from his medical which confirmed that he had been verified and received all required vaccinations for Immigrating to the US!!! Hopefully this works for our AOS journey in the future!

I hope this helps everyone moving forward! If you have any other questions about Jon's medical post them below and I will get answer from Jon!

[Zoe_Doodah 4]

Just wanted to add my experience to this too. I was extremely worried about this stage of the process as I have a couple of chronic conditions and I had read some real horror stories on forums but it was actually fine and nothing to be overly concerned about. 

 

I had my medical on Tuesday, the first day back after the holidays, so there were a few delays as they started up again and I was probably in there for far longer than I would have been on a usual day. Also, the X Ray machine wasn't working so after I had had my full medical at Bentick Street, I was sent round the corner to Harley Street for this part of the process, so that added to the overall time, the vast majority of which was spent in waiting rooms, which was fine, I was just happy everything was going well and it wasn't a scary experience. 

 

After I had handed all the necessary paperwork in at the front desk, I filled in a more comprehensive medical form and handed that in too, along with my urine sample that they'd provided a cup for, and waited to see the medical professionals. First up was the immunisation nurse, who was absolutely lovely and gave me the two injections I was missing. 

 

After another stint in the waiting room,  I was called in by the doctor. I think I would describe her as professional and focused on the job at hand. No small talk or anything. I'll go through the process a stage at a time as I know I would have appreciated this information beforehand. 

 

First up was a height and weight check followed by sight test. Then we sat at her desk and went through my forms and my GP summary. I had brought along a lot of information and I am very glad I did as I would only have had to get it from my GP afterwards if I hadn't. I have Type 2 diabetes and had had the barrage of tests associated with that two weeks beforehand, and she looked over all that information carefully and made notes on my forms. She even asked for the letter you get following your annual retinal scan. If you do have a chronic condition like this, make sure you have anything you might possible need with you on the day, otherwise you are looking at a delay. Trust me in this, you can't have too much information on you. 

 

I was asked about any mental health problems, past drug use or arrests involving alcohol, and she checked my police certificate too. 

 

I was then asked to sit on the bed and she throughly checked my eyes and ears then asked my to undress to my underwear, put on a gown and lay on the bed. She checked-

 

Lymph glands in neck and upper chest

Stomach and lower abdomen

Heart and lungs (from lots of different points)

Pulse point in ankles and feet

Arms thoroughly (for track marks)

Blood pressure

Blood sample taken  

 

There was no genital check as we all know now and nor was there any breast exam. The gown was fastened all the time. 

 

I dressed and the doctor then told me that everything was fine as far as her part of it was concerned and that my papers would be sent on the embassy when they had the results of the urine, blood and X Ray tests. 

 

Back to the waiting room to wait to be called to pay. They returned my documents, apologies for all the waiting I had done and sent me to get my X Ray done round the corner. I paid up and set off, using the map they had provided and found the clinic easily. 

 

For the X Ray, I had to strip to the waist, put a gown on and stand in front of the machine with my chest thrust out and my arms like a duck. The technician had to take an image a second time as I hadn't breathed in deeply enough the first. Then it was dressed and all done. 

 

I'm still waiting to hear if there are any problems with the tests but hopefully there aren't and I am all done. I had been utterly dreading this for months (years) but it wasn't bad at all. I think the main advice I could give anyone is be prepared- have more than you need with you in terms of health information. Several people in the waiting room with me were told they needed follow-ups.  Most of all, don't worry about it. 

 

Hope this helps someone