General practitioners are generally responsible for regulating access to other parts of the NHS and will make a referral where the patient's condition makes this necessary. Examples are where an operation is required or specialist advice about medication may be called for, such as in the care of diabetes or epilepsy. The fact that a problem falls into a particular area, e.g. gynaecology, does not mean that you need to see a specialist in that area. However psychotherapy is available for the small number of people who will benefit most from it. The decision of whether a referral is needed is usually made by doctor and patient together.
Many medications look different in England.
They may contain the same chemical ingredients as the medications you are used to but may have a different brand name and may look different. Examples are drugs for long-term treatment of low blood pressure, desensitising injections for allergy, and several others. The reason for this is that most British doctors take the view that such treatments do more harm than good. For most treatments this does not raise any problems. Indeed it is useful to be able to show your new doctor the packet as this may show him or her what the active ingredients are.