Operating on other non UK Europeans on NHS?

[tu123]

Just got me thinking after seeing another thread on here about fertility treatment on NHS.

A month ago i was at work where we had an NHS list being operated on. It is cheaper for the NHS hospital to pay their local private hospital to do the operations than to get fined for patients who are on the list too long!

Anyway, three out of the 7 people were from other countries and came over here to get the operation done as it takes far too long in their country. One chap had only been on the waiting list 4 weeks so lord knows why he was there! And these were routine procedures, not specialist, which of course is a different story entirely.

Obvioulsy i am not there to pass comment but it did unsettle me a bit. When i know that people who have had to wait far to long for their chemotherapy or other operation for their life debilitating illness.

What do you think?

 

[tina3747]

As much as I'm for free ivf for childless couples there's no way on this earth I think free treatment for anyone outside the uk.
Anyone in this country who is paying ni contributions And taxes, they should be entitled whether your claiming income support or earning 100k per year. I can't see how anyone would justify people coming here and bring treated for free then clearing off home. Were already struggling with waiting lists ect and I know for a fact people fly here to get operations and then do one!! Completly wrong and unjusifiable.

 

[lesleyann]

I thinkn we need to get a policy like other countries than when in ours you need insurance or Cash to be treated.. when in turkey the hospital would not take my dad without us being able to pay first or prove we had insurance to cover the bill which I believe we should also do here.. At the moment is it not just a X years ban if you do not pay your NHS bill which if its something like a 20-50k Op is the person really going to care that they are banned for X years? and of course not all go back to their home countries any

 

[tu123]

I was asking my hubby about it and he said it is like theft. Thing is though, the government makes it so easy for people to "use" the system to would be very hard to determine who was taking the piss.

 

[Eternal]

i think its really wrong personally, what really really annoys me is people who used to be UK residents, moved away and come back for UK treatments, i know someone who lived in the US and kept coming back for investigations due to infertility. Its wrong in my opioion. Yes they are British but they arnt contributing at all!

As for others who arnt even UK citizens, its really wrong, why should it be allowed to happen, esp when OH contributed far more than what any of us use from the NHS (i wish there was an opt out system sometimes so we could just go private) and he has waited 9 months for a dermatology appt because of a mark on his nose that his GP said looked like skin cancer and has waited over a year now (with no correspondance) about having his toe nails removed as they are constrantly ingrown and bleeding eck! Both really simple things but why the hell should he be left waiting so long? as for the nose thing, we called up and asked when he could be seen if we paid, they said "tonight any good?", we paid £120, it was done and dusted that night, wht the hell is the NHS so slow and usless? Well clearly treating non-UK citizens is not going to be helping.

 

[marley2580]

Isn't it like when we travel abroad (within the EU) and need medical attention we're supposed to carry a EHIC card so our govt pays for our treatment?

 

[Eternal]

yeah i think thats how it works, but then tahts for emergency care, its not like we can just go over to france and get our gallbladders out or dental care, iykwim?

 

[marley2580]

I thought that the NHS sends people abroad for medical care?

 

[Eternal]

I thought that the NHS sends people abroad for medical care?

Does it? Ive know a few people that get sent for private treatment as waiting lists are so long, but never heard of anyone going abroad, i could be wrong though x

 

[marley2580]

It seems they do - https://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Entitlementsandcharges/OverseastreatmentguidanceforNHS/index.htm

 

[Blah11]

i think they only do this in emergency cases do they not? My friends son broke his leg skiing in france and they just put it in a brace thing to stabilise it and he had the op over here

 

[Eternal]

i think they only do this in emergency cases do they not? My friends son broke his leg skiing in france and they just put it in a brace thing to stabilise it and he had the op over here

thats what i thought too.

 

[britishsaffy]

The NHS is a wonderful (and abused) system.
As one of those people who is a UK citizen and chose to move to the USA because my husband is American, I am no longer entitled to use the NHS whilst I am not residing in the UK. The USA is very expensive if you don't have insurance (which I do), and even if I didn't have insurance I couldn't just hop over the pond if I wanted to utilise the freebie NHS, because when I left I had to declare it to the UK Inland Revenue and it was registered against my NI number. Should I ever wish to return to the UK, I will have to report my return to the IR and let them know.
I'm sure theoretically I 'could' use the NHS whilst on a visit home, but legally it's Fraud, and I would be just as liable to prosecution as anyone else if I was caught and didn't pay for my treatment.

 

[Eternal]

The NHS is a wonderful (and abused) system.
As one of those people who is a UK citizen and chose to move to the USA because my husband is American, I am no longer entitled to use the NHS whilst I am not residing in the UK. The USA is very expensive if you don't have insurance (which I do), and even if I didn't have insurance I couldn't just hop over the pond if I wanted to utilise the freebie NHS, because when I left I had to declare it to the UK Inland Revenue and it was registered against my NI number. Should I ever wish to return to the UK, I will have to report my return to the IR and let them know.
I'm sure theoretically I 'could' use the NHS whilst on a visit home, but legally it's Fraud, and I would be just as liable to prosecution as anyone else if I was caught and didn't pay for my treatment.

i have an friend who did the same, married an american and moved over and she does pop back and forth for treatment, she has no insurance, he evetually got pregnant now but suppose she used medicare or whatever there now.

 

[Natsku]

Are you sure they are actually getting it for free? I know here something if they can't get an operation done in a hospital here the government pays for it to be done in another country but its all paid for by the home government, not the government of the country that the operation is being done in.

 

[maryp0ppins]

The NHS is a wonderful (and abused) system.
As one of those people who is a UK citizen and chose to move to the USA because my husband is American, I am no longer entitled to use the NHS whilst I am not residing in the UK. The USA is very expensive if you don't have insurance (which I do), and even if I didn't have insurance I couldn't just hop over the pond if I wanted to utilise the freebie NHS, because when I left I had to declare it to the UK Inland Revenue and it was registered against my NI number. Should I ever wish to return to the UK, I will have to report my return to the IR and let them know.
I'm sure theoretically I 'could' use the NHS whilst on a visit home, but legally it's Fraud, and I would be just as liable to prosecution as anyone else if I was caught and didn't pay for my treatment.

I am in the same boat, I live in the UK and pay tax here, I am NOT a British Citizen but because I pay into the system I am entitled to care from the NHS. When I am visiting my parents in Canada I always make sure I have travel insurance just incase I need to see a doctor, i'd never just go in and have care done even though I am a Canadian citizen, I am not entitled to it!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

The NHS is a wonderful (and abused) system.
As one of those people who is a UK citizen and chose to move to the USA because my husband is American, I am no longer entitled to use the NHS whilst I am not residing in the UK. The USA is very expensive if you don't have insurance (which I do), and even if I didn't have insurance I couldn't just hop over the pond if I wanted to utilise the freebie NHS, because when I left I had to declare it to the UK Inland Revenue and it was registered against my NI number. Should I ever wish to return to the UK, I will have to report my return to the IR and let them know.
I'm sure theoretically I 'could' use the NHS whilst on a visit home, but legally it's Fraud, and I would be just as liable to prosecution as anyone else if I was caught and didn't pay for my treatment.

I am in the same boat, I live in the UK and pay tax here, I am NOT a British Citizen but because I pay into the system I am entitled to care from the NHS. When I am visiting my parents in Canada I always make sure I have travel insurance just incase I need to see a doctor, i'd never just go in and have care done even though I am a Canadian citizen, I am not entitled to it!

I'm the same. I have a residence permit (spousal visa). I paid to be in this country. However, it wouldn't be right to use the system when we move back to the USA in 5 years.

 

[Dopeyjopey]

Does it say those people were here just because of getting the treatment? Do they definitely not have jobs here i.e. Paying into the system?

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I don't have a job atm, I'm a SAHM. My DH does work though.

 

[TeresaG]

I don't think it is right that people can come here from other countries and take advantage of the NHS. They should have insurance or pay for treatment that they have. I thnk the NHS are supposed to get them to pay but it must be difficult in some cases if they have left the country.