hepb vaccinations for course

phoebe03cat

My daughter has to have a course of 3 hepb's before she starts her course this Sept. Local doctors charges £99!!! Does anyone know any way of getting this reduced, or better still paid for pls as she's still at school?:eek:

tumbleweed261

I'm a member of the St John Ambulance and I think we get them for free (not planning on finding out though as needles terrify me) at the uni health centre - maybe worth checking out? If she needs HepB, then is it a medical-related course? If so volunteering somewhere like SJA would be valuable experience for the old CV, and it's a great way to meet new people at uni! Hope that helps

Also, just thinking aloud (as it were): if she has to have them for her course do they not subsidise them for their students?

Nenen

Hate to bring only bad news but our ds had a similar situation last summer when asked to go on a university field study trip to huge forest in Poland. He was volunteering to work full time on a research project for 5 weeks getting only very basic board and lodging for the duration. He had to pay for his own flight and travel costs and on top of that had to have all sorts of injections (including one for tick-born encephalitis :eek: ).

The total cost was over £160:eek: :eek: :eek:
He must be the only young man in the world that, when asked what he got from his Mum and dad for his 21st birthday, is able to say 'injections' :rotfl:

We tried all sorts of ways to get them cheaper but unfortunately couldn't find any way round it. One would have thought that the NHS could differentiate between people going on exotic foreign holidays and students needing them for their studies or people needing them for work but apparently not! :mad: People going on exotic holidays should be able to factor this cost into their expensive holiday but student workers find this very difficult. The fact is that if people on low incomes don't have the injections due to cost then the NHS will have to foot a far heftier bill to treat the disease should they get it.
One thing we tried to no avail but might be worth you checking is to see if there is a difference in price between his GP at Uni and your GP (whom he can see as a temporary visitor) as I think each GP practice (or health authority) sets their own charge.
Good luck

dmg24

I would be interested if someone knew the actual rules for this, as my GP gives all injections for free, regardless of the reason you need them. Very strange! x

phoebe03cat

Thanks very much for the replies. We were told payment was at doctor's discretion and so it would appear! Will try contacting the uni tomorrow. Thanks again.

Savvy_Sue

Well, you could try asking at your local sexual health clinic ... We recommend that all our staff and volunteers have one of the Heps, and as we have a sexual health nurse at work each week she will give them for free.

It does mean you have a 'record' with them, but if you can live with that ...

kittymary

If her course is an NHS course, she will be offered the vaccinations through occupational health once she starts the course. She will probably find a visit to the occupational health nurse on her timetable for the first week. If she has to have had the vaccinations before she starts, then the university ought to make arrangements for occupational health to do them.

GPs sometimes will do them for free for healthcare students, but many won't as they don't get paid for them, and they really ought to be sorted out by the occupational health department of the placement hospital.

lauren2007

Hi
I know at my GP if they have the vacinne in the surgery then there is no charge, if they have to order it for you then you pay the price of a prescription for each injection you need. It always seemed very reasonable to me.

ka7e

Hep B jabs for courses starting in Sept, need to be organised now. It is a course of 3 injections, 1 now, 1 in 2 months and the final one 4 months later. Blood tests are also needed to check levels of antibodies being produced. There is a jab for tourists which gives almost immediate temporary cover.
Our GP referred us to the local Occupational Health offices as they had no policy in place for vaccinating students. Phoned Occ. Health on numerous occasions but couldn't get a straight answer from them - they wouldn't make DD an appointment until she "was in the system". But I could not get them to pinpoint how she actually got "in the system!
DD had a nurse's appointment at our surgery for an ezcema consultation and mentioned her need for HepB, the nurse said she would do the vaccination there and then - and if anyone asked, DD should say she was going on holiday and needed it. Our surgery does them free for holiday-makers but not for students!!

dalumsden1

The clap clinic I'm sure gives them free. Go for it.

Nenen

dalumsden1 wrote: »

The clap clinic I'm sure gives them free. Go for it.

Is it just me or does it strike anyone else that it is less than fair to give free jabs to those who choose to put themselves at risk of STDs but charge an enormous amount to the very people who are going to train in the medical professions (who may well end up treating them)????? And, before anyone flames me, I do know that STD clinics also treat those who have come into contact with STDs through no fault of their own and of course I also think those people should have the jabs free.
The NHS postcode lottery is ridiculous... just the straw poll on here shows GPs charging anything between zero to prescription charge (around £6.50 I think) to over £90! :eek: