HEALTH

Students in full-time education who are under the age of 19 can be automatically entitled to full help with their health costs. Students aged 19 or over may also be eligible for help with Health Costs depending on how much they earn/what savings they have.

In order to see if you qualify for the NHS Low Income Scheme to receive help with Health Costs you should fill in an HC1 form. If you are eligible you will receive an HC2 Certificate which will detail the help you can receive.  You can pick up a free HC1 form from SU Reception in Square 3.

Claiming a refund:
If you have paid an NHS prescription charge you must use the prescription receipt form FP57 to claim a refund. You should ask for this form at the time you pay as you cannot get one later. The form will explain the procedure to follow.

If you have paid for other NHS charges you must use the claim form for the charge you have paid. There is a separate form for each type of charge (HC5(O) for optical costs, HC5(D) for Dental costs, HC5(T) for NHS travel costs and HC5(W) for wigs and fabric support charges.

prescription service

The SU operates a Prescription Delivery Service.  The service is free of charge (althoguh if you are required to pay for your prescription this will still be payable) and is available to all staff and students at the University (Colchester Campus).  See here for further details.

sexual health

SU Reception provides free condoms and dental dams for all students and they can be collected from the SU Reception in Square 3.  

The SU Reception also sells pregnancy tests at a reduced cost,

For more information on local Sexual Health services please see our SU Advice web page here.

emotional support

At SU Advice we are not trained counsellors, but are happy to provide a listening ear and practical support.  If you're looking for someone to talk to the University of Essex Wellbeing team are there to help and support students.  Alternatively, the Counselling Directory can help you find private counseling in your local area.