Health and Wellbeing
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Keeping a healthy body and mind is essential for students in the performing arts.
On this page, you will find information about how to register with a doctor, where to access local gyms, what free treatments are available, and about specialist medical support for performing artists.
Keeping Fit
The RCS Students’ Union offers several health and wellbeing classes every week. Details are given to students upon starting their studies.
Students living at Base Glasgow have access to a free on-site gym.
There are various other gyms and fitness centres in the Glasgow area, including Glasgow Club and PureGym. The University of Strathclyde gym and the University of Glasgow gym both allow students from other higher education institutions to be a member for a special rate. ARC at Glasgow Caledonian University is also open to members of the public.
You don’t need to pay to join a gym to keep fit! For more information, see the NHS exercise guidelines and workouts to help improve your fitness and wellbeing.
Register with a Doctor (GP)
During your time at RCS, you should register with a local General Practitioner (GP) provided by the National Health Service (NHS).
Most students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland register with Drs Leslie, Ojo and Chetty:
Woodside Health & Care Centre
891 Garscube Road
Glasgow
G20 7ER
Once you become a student at the Conservatoire, you can register with the GP practice online.
If you already live in the UK, you can access the NHS in the same way as you would in your home town. Prescriptions in Scotland are free for everyone.
If you’re from outside the UK, you should familiarise yourself with the healthcare system in the UK. UKCISA gives detailed information about this. Please pay particular attention to the page on ‘Scotland’.
If your programme or course will last six months or more, starting in September 2021 or later, then you can access the NHS by paying the Immigration Health Surcharge as part of the Student route visa application. This currently costs £470 per year.
Students studying on a six-month programme, who enter the UK on a Visitor visa, are not eligible for NHS healthcare. You must have adequate private health coverage.
Free NHS Treatments
The following treatment provided by the NHS is free of charge for everyone:
- Accident and emergency services (but not follow-up treatment, or admission as an in-patient to the hospital)
- Family planning services
- Diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections
- Diagnosis and treatment of certain infectious diseases
- Compulsory psychiatric treatment or treatment that has been ordered by a court
Specialist Medical Care for the Performing Arts
If you experience a programme-related medical problem that is causing you difficulties in your studies and cannot easily be dealt with by your GP, the International and Student Experience team may be able to make arrangements for you to have one free consultation with a specialist practitioner.
We have a small register of private medical specialists in fields relevant to performance in music, drama and dance.
To access this service, you must have seen your GP first.
Please email welfare@rcs.ac.uk in the first instance.
Find out more about health services on our Portal.
Free Support from the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine
RCS works with the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) — a charity giving medical advice to people working and studying in the performing arts. Most of the staff on our small register of private medical specialists are BAPAM clinicians.
BAPAM offers performing arts students free clinics, training and resources.