Starting or settling back into university? A GP’s guide to staying well this term

Written by Dr Zamiel Hussain, Lead GP and Founder of AccessGP

September can be exciting, but it can also be a messy few weeks.

You may be moving away from home for the first time, meeting new people, starting lectures, adjusting to shared accommodation, managing your own medication, or returning to a more demanding year of study.

The practical health side of university is easy to put off while everything else is happening.

As a GP, I often speak to students once something has already become urgent: anxiety is affecting sleep, medication is running low, asthma or eczema has flared, a urinary infection has appeared at the worst possible time, or medical evidence is suddenly needed after missed teaching or an assessment.

Some of these situations cannot be predicted. But many are easier to deal with if you sort the basics early.

Whether you are starting university for the first time or settling back into another year, here are the health things worth thinking about now.

Register with a GP near university

If you spend most of the academic year at university, one of the most useful things you can do is register with a GP near your term-time address.

Do not wait until you become unwell.

Having a local NHS GP makes it easier to manage ongoing prescriptions, vaccinations, long-term conditions, NHS referrals and health problems that need an examination or continuity of care.

This is especially important if you have conditions such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, a mental health condition or anything requiring regular medication or monitoring.

Private GP services can provide useful additional access when you need timely advice, but they should not replace having a local NHS GP for your ongoing healthcare.

If you have arrived at university and have not registered yet, it is still worth doing now.

Check your meningitis and other vaccinations

This deserves particular attention in 2026.

Students in their first year of university are at increased risk of meningococcal infection because university life often involves close contact with large numbers of new people, particularly in halls, shared accommodation and social settings.

This autumn, a new NHS MenB vaccination programme is available to eligible young people, including many students starting university for the first time.

If you are eligible, the MenB course requires two doses, given at least four weeks apart. If you had your first dose during the summer but have not arranged your second, now is the time to check.

And if you have arrived at university without having your first MenB dose, do not assume you have missed your opportunity. Eligible students can still access the programme.

It is also worth checking that you have previously received MenACWY and two doses of MMR.

If you are uncertain what vaccinations you have had, check with your GP practice or NHS vaccination record rather than relying on memory.

Most importantly, vaccination does not mean meningitis can never occur.

Seek urgent medical help if you or someone around you develops symptoms such as becoming rapidly very unwell, severe headache, neck stiffness, confusion, marked drowsiness, vomiting, sensitivity to light, seizures, or a concerning rash. Do not wait for every classic symptom to appear before getting help.

Sort your medication before it becomes a problem

Moving away from home often disrupts routines.

Students sometimes realise too late that an inhaler is almost empty, contraception has run out, antidepressants are running low, migraine medication was left at home, or their repeat prescription is still linked to a GP surgery hundreds of miles away.

If you take regular medication, check now that you understand how you will obtain it during term.

That might include asthma inhalers, eczema or acne treatment, migraine medication, contraception, antidepressants, reflux treatment, thyroid medication, diabetes treatment or medication for another long-term condition.

For regular treatment, your NHS GP and usual specialist arrangements are usually the best way to maintain continuity.

A private GP can sometimes help with a medication review or prescription where clinically appropriate, but an online appointment is not a shortcut around normal prescribing safeguards.

Some medicines need specialist supervision, blood-test monitoring or shared-care arrangements. Controlled drugs and ADHD stimulant medication, in particular, may not be appropriate for episodic private online prescribing.

Planning ahead avoids a stressful situation later in term.

Keep your important health information somewhere accessible

You do not need an elaborate medical file. A simple folder on your phone or laptop containing your medication list, allergies, NHS number, GP details and important hospital or specialist letters can make life much easier if you need healthcare away from home.

If you have a long-term condition, it may also help to keep your recent results, action plan or relevant treatment information available.

Students often move between their university address and family home, which can make healthcare feel fragmented. Having your own basic information to hand can make a new consultation safer and more useful.

Do not ignore anxiety, stress or poor sleep because “everyone at university feels like this”

Some degree of stress is normal when university starts.

You may be living with unfamiliar people, managing money differently, trying to establish friendships, dealing with coursework, adjusting to independent study or worrying about whether you belong.

But there is a difference between ordinary adjustment and symptoms that are beginning to affect how you function.

It may be worth asking for help if anxiety, low mood or stress is persistently affecting your sleep, appetite, concentration, attendance, relationships, motivation or ability to complete work.

Panic attacks, repeated nights without adequate sleep, feeling unable to leave your room, losing interest in things you normally enjoy, or constantly feeling overwhelmed are all reasonable reasons to speak to someone.

Your university may have wellbeing or counselling services, and your NHS GP can provide ongoing medical support.

A private GP can also be a useful first point of contact if you want a timely clinical assessment. We can discuss anxiety, panic symptoms, sleep, medication, physical symptoms and the most appropriate next steps.

You do not have to wait until you reach crisis point.

If you feel unable to keep yourself safe, have thoughts of suicide or self-harm that you may act on, or your mental health is deteriorating rapidly, seek urgent help rather than waiting for a routine online appointment.

The “freshers’ flu” problem: when it is more than a cold

The first few weeks at university are famous for coughs, colds and sore throats.

Large groups of people mixing together, late nights, disrupted sleep, alcohol and changes in routine create ideal conditions for respiratory infections to spread.

Most viral illnesses improve with time, fluids, rest and simple symptom relief.

But not everything should be labelled “freshers’ flu”.

Persistent fever, worsening shortness of breath, severe chest pain, coughing up blood, becoming unusually drowsy or confused, severe dehydration, or rapidly worsening illness should prompt medical assessment.

Likewise, if you have asthma and find yourself needing your reliever inhaler significantly more than usual, seek advice.

Common health problems do not stop being important because you are busy

University timetables have a habit of making people postpone healthcare.

Students commonly seek help for headaches and migraine, urinary symptoms, stomach problems, eczema, acne, asthma, allergies, period problems, contraception, fatigue, sleep disturbance and medication side effects.

Many of these are well suited to an initial GP assessment, including online where appropriate.

The advantage of addressing problems early is often simply that you can make a plan before the issue starts affecting lectures, placements, assessments or social life.

A urinary infection on Monday is easier to deal with than one you have ignored until Friday night.

Medical letters for university, exams and extenuating circumstances

This is something I see regularly in private general practice.

Students may need medical evidence because illness has affected an exam, coursework, attendance, a placement or their ability to progress with their studies.

Universities use different terms, including extenuating circumstances, mitigating circumstances, exceptional circumstances and compelling personal reasons.

A GP may be able to provide a factual medical letter following an appropriate assessment.

Depending on the situation, this may explain the symptoms discussed, when they occurred, the effect they are likely to have had on day-to-day functioning, treatment or follow-up, and any supporting medical evidence reviewed.

But there is an important distinction between providing medical evidence and deciding an academic outcome.

A GP cannot guarantee that an extension, appeal, deferred examination or extenuating-circumstances application will be accepted. That decision belongs to the university or examination body.

Retrospective requests also need particular care.

If you speak to a doctor today about symptoms that affected an exam several weeks or months ago, the doctor may be able to review contemporaneous evidence and describe your history. But they cannot pretend they assessed you at the time if they did not.

That does not necessarily prevent a useful letter being written. It simply means the limitations should be explained honestly.

If you already have relevant evidence, such as previous medical records, a university wellbeing record, hospital correspondence, medication history or an extenuating-circumstances form, provide it before or at your consultation where possible.

What about fit notes?

A fit note relates primarily to fitness for work, not university attendance.

This matters because many students also have part-time jobs or paid placements.

If a health condition affects your ability to work, a GP can consider whether a fit note is clinically appropriate after an assessment. That may mean being not fit for work for a period, or potentially being able to work with adjustments.

For university study itself, the institution will usually have its own process for medical evidence, absence, extensions or mitigating circumstances. A factual GP letter may therefore be more relevant than a fit note.

If you are unsure which document you need, check what your employer, placement provider or university is actually asking for before your consultation.

Students on clinical or professional placements may need different support

Medicine, nursing, teaching, dentistry, allied health professions and other courses can involve placements with additional health or fitness requirements.

A GP can provide factual information about a health condition where appropriate.

However, decisions about whether someone is fit to undertake a specific professional placement may require your university’s occupational health service or another specialist assessment.

The same applies to detailed workplace restrictions or fitness-to-practise decisions.

A useful GP letter should describe relevant medical facts and functional impact without pretending to replace occupational health or the university’s own decision-making process.

If you have a long-term condition, make a term-time plan

University life is easier when you know what will happen if your condition flares.

If you have asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, migraine, severe allergies, a mental health condition, thyroid disease or another ongoing condition, think through where your medication will come from, whether monitoring is due, who your specialist team is and what symptoms should prompt urgent care.

You may also want trusted flatmates or friends to know what to do in an emergency, particularly with conditions such as severe allergy, epilepsy or diabetes.

It is much easier to establish this when you are well than during an acute problem.

When an online GP is useful

Online GP care can be particularly convenient for students.

You may be away from your home GP, have a busy timetable, or simply want to discuss a problem sooner rather than later.

At AccessGP, we regularly help adult students with concerns such as anxiety and stress, poor sleep, headaches and migraine, skin problems, allergies, asthma symptoms, urinary symptoms, stomach problems, medication reviews, private referrals, fit notes and university medical letters where clinically appropriate.

But online care has limits. An online private GP appointment is not the right service for serious illness or an emergency. Symptoms such as severe breathlessness, chest pain, collapse, severe abdominal pain, severe testicular pain, significant neurological symptoms, meningitis or sepsis symptoms, severe allergic reactions, or an immediate mental-health crisis need urgent assessment.

Sometimes the safest outcome from an online consultation is to tell you that you need to be examined in person. That is part of good GP care too.

A quick student health check for September

Now that term is starting, ask yourself:

• Have I registered with a local NHS GP?
• If I am eligible for the 2026 MenB programme, have I had both doses or arranged the next one?
• Am I up to date with MenACWY and MMR?
• Do I have enough regular medication and know how I will get more?
• Do I have my important medical information accessible?
• Do I know where my university wellbeing and sexual-health services are?
• Is my mental health starting to affect sleep, attendance or functioning?
• If I have a long-term condition, do I know what to do if it deteriorates?
• Do I know where to seek urgent help locally?

You do not need to have every aspect of your health perfectly organised.

The point is simply to remove some of the avoidable problems before the semester becomes busy.

How AccessGP can help students

AccessGP is an online private GP service for adults in England.

Students use us when they need timely GP advice around university life — whether that means discussing a new health problem, reviewing medication, talking about anxiety or poor sleep, arranging a private referral, or considering a medical letter or fit note.

Where a prescription, letter or fit note is requested, it is always subject to clinical assessment and must be safe and appropriate.

We are not intended to replace your NHS GP, university health service or emergency care.

Instead, think of AccessGP as another route to qualified GP advice when you need help making sense of a health problem and deciding what should happen next.

The bottom line

The first few weeks of university are busy enough without avoidable healthcare problems.

Register locally, check your vaccinations, make sure your medication is organised, know where to get help, and do not ignore symptoms simply because term has only just started.

If anxiety, illness or another health issue begins affecting your studies or day-to-day life, ask for help early.

And if you do end up needing medical evidence for university, try to seek assessment at the time rather than months later. Contemporaneous medical information is often much more useful than trying to reconstruct events afterwards.

University should be about learning, independence and enjoying a new stage of life.

Looking after your health is part of making that possible.

Need to speak to a GP while at university?

AccessGP offers online private GP appointments for adults in England.

We can help with common student health concerns, medication reviews, private referrals, university medical letters and fit notes where clinically appropriate.

• ✓ Private online GP consultations
• ✓ Fit notes where clinically appropriate
• ✓ Medical letters where appropriate
• ✓ Same-day appointments available
• ✓ CQC-registered service
• ✓ GMC-registered UK-based GPs

Book your consultation

Key sources: NHS UK, Getting medical care as a student; NHS UK, NHS vaccinations and when to have them; NHS UK, MenACWY vaccine; NHS UK, Student stress; NHS UK, Getting a fit note; AccessGP Knowledge Base.