Need advise fast for finding medical svcs. In London now.

http://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/

You can also call the company who issued you your travel insurance. They can give you a list of doctors and facilities as well.

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I believe Michelle is already in London. The title of the post says "...In London now..."

If you read the OP's post again, you will understand she is presently in London and leaving for home (or somewhere) on Sunday. In the UK emergency treatment at hospitals is available to foreigners at no charge as long as you are not admitted to the hospital. Go to the closest hospital with a "trauma" (emergency) centre. Surely your American Embassy can at least give you that information.

Ok, Norma, I think you are right. There is nothing like understanding the OP. I guess I can't suggest that she stay in England, but ... Well, we all probably travel with unknown sick people all the time. And I've never gotten sick from airplane travel. I always wait til I've been out of the country for a couple of weeks before getting sick.

Let's hope she wears a mask on the plane.

Michelle,

Sorry to hear that you have the Flu as that's a miserable thing to happen on holidays.

Although I suspect you've now visited a Physician, I can provide the names of some Physicians if you need them. Unfortunately with the Flu virus, treatments are somewhat limited so the usual recommendations apply - drink lots of fluids, get plenty of rest, take ASA/Acetominophen/etc. for symptomatic relief. Anti-viral drugs might help, but I'm not sure what's available in the U.K.?

As a suggestion for future trips, you might consider joining This Organization as they provide a list of english speaking Physicians in numerous countries throughout the world who will provide services for a set fee. I've had to use this service on a previous trip to Rome and everything worked as advertised. If you can manage this with your budget, a personal visit might be preferable to a crowded NHS casualty ward.

Good luck and hope you can enjoy at least part of your holiday.

Thank you for the replies. Yes I am in London now, and not only do I want to feel healthy, I don't want to be detained from the trip home as that would set off a whole chain of domino crises, starting with babysitting Gparents missing their flight home.

I am feeling better and it seems like its just going to be a fairly short, maybe even a very bad cold, but... Conceirge's doctor was 50GBP for telephone consult; 139GBP for visit. I knew there had to be an more reasonable way to deal with it. I didn't feel sick enough to consider it an emergency room visit, but really wanted to intervene before it got to that point. Glad to know the ER's are accomodating; I won't shy from them now.

Before I posted this morning, I had done a quick web search for foreign visitor healthcare in UK. The results were far wide of the mark, and feeling bad sitting at the desk I went to the great community at ricksteves. BTW, I am self-insured. And aside of a trip to Missouri for work once, this is the first time I've ever gotten sick travelling and I've been all over.

Ironic and funny things: I was paranoid about catching the flu in the states in the week before with left. I had the kids doing crazy hand-washing and not eating out and all kinds of things. Also flu shots were released in the UK today, and they are supposed to be available again in the area I live next week. Wouldn't you know.

At Victoria Station, there is a place called Medicentre (there is also one at Waterloo and others in London). These are private clinics that you can just walk-up and wait to see a doctor.

I used this place a couple of times when I lived in London. Saw a doctor and got the meds I needed. I thought the price was reasonable (compared to paying for an out-of-network doctor visit in the U.S.) I just checked their website and see a 15 minute consultation (in person) with a doctor is 65 GBP and a consultation with a nurse is 49 GBP. You can pay with a credit card. Their website is www.medicentre.co.uk.

Glad you are feeling better. When in was ill in Scotland the TI actually booked ke an appointment at the local clinic in Dunkeld. No charge except for prescription. May have been the advantage of being in a small town. Pam

We just got back from London a few days ago. The day before we left my daughter came down with a little fever and sniffles. I took her to the doctor before we left and fortunately she tested negative for flu and strep. But she was miserable on the plane. When we got to our hotel in the Paddington Station area, we found a little walk in clinic around the corner. We ended up not using it because she got better fairly quickly, but just knowing it was there helped me feel better. We asked the pharmacy for Tylenol and found they sell Panadol as an equivalent. We gave it to her every 3 1/2 hours on the dot and eventually she felt well enough to do some sightseeing. Hope you feel better soon!

Michelle, let's hope in the future you never get sick while travelling. (I once spent half of a week long vacation in London, in bed with a stomach virus.)

Before your next trip you might want to do the following:

1) Check with your health insurance to see if they will cover doctor visits overseas (usually you have to pay and they reimburse you.)

2) Think about taking out supplemental health and evacuation insurance. (Not expensive at all.)

3) Should you get sick and can't find a clinic, go to any hospital's emergency room. Anywhere in the world. They will work with you.