what kind of doc shall I see about a knee injury and how does the UK med system work?

Welcome to the wonderful world of the NHS. Your first step: Go to http://www.nhs.uk/, choose "GPs" and enter in the postcode where you live. Tell them you're new to the area and would like to register and get an appointment with one of the doctors. They'll book you in, and you'll have to fill out a form with a few details (address, etc.). Hand that in at reception, wait for the doctor to see you, and then tell him/her what's up with your knee. She/he will look at it, ask you a few questions (repeat pretty much what you said here), and, if it's something she/he can't solve, she/he'll refer you to a specialist. You'll have a bit of a wait, but you will get it checked out. If you need a prescription, you'll get one to take to your local pharmacy. If you need to book another appointment, you can get one. And then you walk out the door. Prescriptions at the pharmacy are £6.85 (but rising to £7.10 in April). Depending on what your doctor says, that might be all you spend for the entire thing. £6.85. No, really. That's what the NHS does. Don't get a health plan, don't go private, just pay your taxes and love the NHS.

If you want to be seen quickly, you'll probably want an NHS Walk-In Centre in the short term. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4SUNA_enGB248GB248&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=nhs+walk-in+centre&near=London&fb=1&view=text&sa=X&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=1 are a number of them in London. In the very short term, remember RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Were you sent an NHS card when you started working? If so, phone GP surgeries close to you and get registered. Once registered you can make an appointment. Depending on where you live it might be easy or hard to find surgeries taking new patients. If you are registered with the health service in any other country but don't yet have an NHS card, getting the

(sorry)... https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/home.do might be useful.

I'm not a doctor, Londoner or lawyer (or physiotherapist) but I have had knee problems. You have the choice of using the National Health Service, going entirely private, or a mixture of both. I've had great service from the NHS in sorting knee problems out, although I don't live in London. http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/health/nhs_charges_for_people_from_abroad.htm to national health service charges should help you work out what your options are. Reading this, it seems clear that you'd qualify to get helped for free: Bullet point 3 under 'who can receive NHS treatment free of charge' lists anyone who's come to work, including the self-employed, so I imagine that your best bet is to contact your local doctor's surgery, register with them and get them to advise you on what proof you might need to offer to confirm your status as a freelancer working in the UK. Your GP (doctor) can then do an initial assessment and refer you to the right specialist - from there you have the option to use the NHS for free, maybe go private within the NHS (pay for faster service or treatment that's not free) or look to the private sector to provide physiotherapy, an operation, or both. But honestly, for all it gets knocked in the press, the NHS is generally pretty good. I'd use them for all that you're able, and maybe just seek private physio if this prevents you from having to wait, or is just more convenient.

Depending on how the UK system works (I don't know the answer to that part of the question--but on preview, the other folks have addressed this), you might have to see a primary doc first, anyway, but it sounds like an orthopedist, particulary in sports medicine, would be appropriate. Pain on the outside of the knee like that, if it doesn't feel like a muscular pain, especially going DOWN stairs, could be iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS). The IT band is the tendon that runs from the outside of your knee to your hip. ITBS is generally an overuse injury, often from running. It sucks as an injury. IANAD, but a former runner with a wealth of injury experience. I struggled with ITBS for a while a few years ago. I got rid of it with PT, orthotics, and this thing called the foam roller. Also, no matter what your injury is, one thing if you start running again is to make sure you are wearing the right running shoes for you. The wrong shoes can cause all sorts of injuries and unpleasantness.

According to http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/health/nhs_charges_for_people_from_abroad.htm You can receive free NHS hospital treatment if you:- ... -have come to the UK to work, either as an employee or self-employed person. This does not include people on short business trips ... So NHS treatment is free for you. As to who to contact, in the NHS you usually register with a General Practitioner of your choice nearby, they would in turn refer you to a specialist. You can use the website of your local NHS trust to find nearby GPs, or use this http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/Find/Results/index.aspx?WT.svl=nav to find nearby health services. If you want to see someone now, and not have to wait until you find a GP that you like and who is accepting new patients, then I don't know, maybe go to a walk in clinic which you can also find on that site. Or call NHS Direct at 0845 4647 and ask them. On preview, yeah, what they said.

When you register, you may need to bring proof of address along with you to prove you're in the cachement area. This can include things like bank documents, utility bills, etc. Everyone else has nailed it: register and go see your GP.

You may also want to bring your passport along to register - increasingly surgeries are checking to ensure you're entitled to NHS care before putting you on the rolls.

nthing: Register with a local GP. Get an appointment. Call NHS Direct in the meantime, or find a local walk limp-in centre. Do not fear the NHS.