Richard Verney Health Centre

Comparing the Richard Verney Health centre to the community care centre back home, this doesn’t score highly.
Positive aspects:
–Many doctors to choose from.
–Some really nice doctors who seem to give you all the time in the world…
–Very conveniently located for university students.
Negative aspects:
–Really long waiting time for everything. You wait forever to see a doctor even if you have an appointment, I have sometimes waited an hour before leaving!
–Very limited prescriptions. I feel they offer substandard medications sometimes or are reluctant to prescribe in order to cut costs. I had reactions to a medicine, and they insisted it wasn’t the cheap one I was being prescribed. I went home, got a more expensive (and according to online reviews, 3 stars more effective) medicine, and haven’t had any problems since. I am also on a really long waiting list to see specialists to get a endoscopy, and on another to see a dermatologist. Both waiting lists are very long and it feels like in the meanwhile, the doctor seriously doesn’t care.
–no personal relationship with the doctors, so they don’t really know you. In a smaller practice you get quite familiar with the staff, and feel a little more like a person and less like an insignificant number.
–Very busy practice, sometimes there are no doctors available for a couple of weeks.
–Given the the fleeting appointments, often the doctors don’t thoroughly check the medical records, and you get a medicine which isn’t right for your body, or conflicts with another one you are taking.
–Difficult to get on the list if you didn’t sign up at the beginning of term. It gets full up quickly.

Good organisation, easy location, good number of doctors, onsite pharmacy.
Plus if you’re like me and don’t ever plan ahead there is a drop in every morning — if you turn up between 9 – 10 you will be seen by a doctor.
Sure I’ve had to wait around for a while sometimes but worth it for not having to plan weeks in advance.
Probably less good if you drive but for cyclists walking it’s fine.

As an EU student, I was extremely grateful not to have to go through the tedious process of finding and registering with a GP through the NHS. However, I haven’t been ill yet (knock on wood!) so I have no idea if it’s more adviceable than going elsewhere.
It’s situated right next to the university union building of Potterow, which is extremely convenient for students such as myself, that have the bulk of their lectures in that area. I signed up in a relatively quick process during Fresher’s Week, and whilst I haven’t been there to treat any ailments, I did meet with a doctor to discuss some concerns I had (no, I wasn’t pregnant.). The waiting period was about a week, which was fine with me as the matter wasn’t urgent, but if you feel like you’re dying (i.e. have the flu or something) it’s a little frustrating not to receive some form of immediate treatment!
Otherwise, it’s a good arrangement, because for one, it’s absolutely free for students!

This is possibly one of the most important services I have used in Edinburgh, and I am surprised that it has not been reviewed so far, so here goes.
The Richard Verney Health Centre in Bristo Square is the health centre for the University of Edinburgh, and is situated directly on the university campus, just off Bristo Square. It provides the service of doctors and nurses to students and residents alike.
There are a couple of great things about this place. The obvious one of these is the location. Besides that, the first great thing is their open access surgery. This runs from Monday to Friday, every morning between 9 and 10am. During this time, you can turn up without an appointment and see a doctor. This is great if something comes up, or you need some quick advice. Be warned — it does get very busy, especially during term time, so arrive as close to 9am as possible if you want a quick appointment.
In the other clinics and surgeries that operate during the day at the centre, the appointments tend to run pretty close to time. Some surgeries can run horribly late, but I don’t think that I have ever been in more than 15 minutes after the scheduled appointment time.
The other great thing about this place is that there is a pharmacy in the same building, so no need for a long walk to get prescriptions or other pharmacy supplies.
As a student, I feel that registering with a health centre is a must, and if you’re a student at the University of Edinburgh, then this facility is a no-​brainer.