[dphillview]

Hi Everyone

Just thought I'd post what happened to us today...after a night of worrying and panicking..am happy to say so far so good.

We had our medicals done at the Pinehill Hospital in Hitchin Hertfordshire. The total price for 2 adults and 2 toddlers (twins aged 3) was £440 this was for 2 adult chest x-rays, 2 adult blood tests, and 4 medicals.

We arrived before time at 2.30pm (appt was for 3 pm) checked in and had our x-rays within 10 mins. Got the x-rays and was sent to a waiting area, and given the NZIS forms to fill in..but after 5 mins I had to go with the girls to see the doc and have our medicals..whilst he gave the girls their medicals(checked their ears/eyes asked them to breath in and out, checked their reflexes and had a general feel around of their tummy and chest area) I was busy filling out the forms, after about another 5 mins it was my turn. Was told to touch my toes, had to read 2 letters from a sight chart (they weren't small letters!), he did my BP, reflexes, checked my ears and eyes (with a light thingy) looked in my mouth briefly :eek took 1 sample of blood, which when I questioned what it was for, he replied NZ only check for syphillis (SP?) asked me to breath in and out a couple of times, had a bit of a feel around and that was it!!
(nb no Blood tests or x-rays for children)

Not bad work really for £440...kind of felt he was just doing his duty really, not going all out and out to find probs..the x-rays were fine for us both too!!

So after about 1 hr (not bad considering there was 4 of us) we left with our x-rays and was told that we'd get the forms and blood test in approx 7-10 days.

So to recap re blood tests...NZ only require Syphillis...only 1 vial of blood is allowed per test, so if they test for 3 things then 3 vials will need to be taken...for NZ this is not a requirement unlike Australia. NZIS DO NOT TEST FOR HIV OR HEP B/C (unless have tattoo's / body piercings...even then it's down to the doc doing the tests)

You only take away the X-rays...the medical form stays with the hospital until the blood test results come thru, only then do they post them to you. The doc said that the letter/docs is not sealed which means you can take a sneaky peak if you wish...this is not against the NZIS rules...however IT IS FOR AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION..so hopefully that clears up the confusion.

This is an account of our experience today, if you go thru something different please don't kill me..by and large I just wanted to post something that hopefully reassures peeps out there that it wasn't that bad an ordeal...for us we were in and out in just over 1 hr, everyone was really nice, even the doc (who on first impressions looked like he was gonna give us the 3rd degree, but didn't!!) It was painless and straight forward, and really not worth the sleepless night I had last night..but everyone goes through it anyway...eh??

Just need to wait just over a week then to get the final ok, and then we can submit them with all our other docs to NZ house and hope our PR comes through before we go!!! :smile :smile

Hope this has been of to some use to some people out there!! any questions please ask and I'll try and help as much as possible.

PS We were all weighed and had our height taken, but the BMI wasn't told to us by the doc there and then so maybe have to wait till the forms come back...having checked several calculators, we are both under 30 so hope they get the same result :hopeso

[lindajax]

Hi Debs and pete,
i@m abit confused I posted earlier and asked about blood tests cos couldn't find HIV and Hep B on nzis form but was told they were manadatory - I feel that it sort of depends on the doc you see my nmeds etc came to £369 for 2 adults and 1 child
Mffed
linda xxx

[dphillview]

Hi Linda

Asked the doc that specific question, as there have been many posts about whether they test for HIV/Hep B/C, and he defo said that NZ only require Syphillis, not HIV...like you say probably depends on which doctor you see!!

Think we should be ok on all counts anyway, but would be nice if there was a clear cut answer..

Only a week and a bit to wait till we get the all clear..hopefully :hopeso so better get all our paperwork in order to take to NZ house..

I was shocked at home much the medical prices vary in the area. We went to Hertfordshire as they were one of the cheapest and could see us quickley (only booked it last week) some of the other hospitals had a waiting list going on till end of November which was no good for us, and the place in Southend (which would have been our local hospital) were charging over £600 for us all..and the earliest appt would have been for middle of Nov..so we decided to shop around and glad we did!!

Are you going to take your PR docs to NZ house or are you gonna post them??

[funkstar deluxe]

got mine in a couple weeks
Might be more than I know at the moment, but London seems cheaper - for the first time ever.

£85 Medical + Bloods
£35 Chest X-ray
£?? Some additionals?

[Babette & Andy]

Thanks for the detailed account Debs (and additional info Linda & others), I know this must seem like years ago to you now.

This is why this forum is so great, forum members anticipate that others may have similar questions to what goes on in your own minds, and as such share their experiences.

I've started our research for Medicals today, starting with this thread.

Thanks again guys.

Babette :nice1

[dphillview]

No worries Babette!! :nice1

Like you, have been there trawling through all the threads to gain as much knowledge from all the peeps who have been there.. done it ..bought the tee-shirt etc..

I also thank all the people who have posted their experiences, so that when it came to our turn, we would be a bit more prepared and know what to expect, and so as follows would be able to share our experiences with you too!

I wish you all the very best of luck, and hope you find all the answers you're looking for!! and remember, your time will come and you will also find yourself in the position where you have some advice/knowledge to share and help out someone else on the sticky road to kiwiland..

Take care and all the best

[dphillview]

No worries Babette!! :nice1

Like you, have been there trawling through all the threads to gain as much knowledge from all the peeps who have been there.. done it ..bought the tee-shirt etc..

I also thank all the people who have posted their experiences, so that when it came to our turn, we would be a bit more prepared and know what to expect, and so as follows would be able to share our experiences with you too!

I wish you all the very best of luck, and hope you find all the answers you're looking for!! and remember, your time will come and you will also find yourself in the position where you have some advice/knowledge to share and help out someone else on the sticky road to kiwiland..

Take care and all the best

[Tash]

I think your doc is pulling your leg trying to tell you that HIV and hep B are mandatory. They're definitely not. GPs here in NZ think it's crazy, who cares about syphilis (spelling?) and TB. Both are easily treated with antibiotics. It might happen in the future that HIV is needed, as this is expensive to treat. But not for now.

[Tara Sage]

Sorry all for confusing the matter but out GP said that he was testing for HIV and Syp....... (Can't spell it you know what I mean)?

Who cares what they test for as long as they let us stay!