Daily Express: Foreigners owe NHS £100m

By Cyril Dixon

FOREIGN embassy officials are among overseas patients who owe NHS hospitals more than £100million in unpaid bills, it emerged yesterday.

Staff from the London consulates of Cyprus, Kuwait and Qatar have failed to pay more than £1million for treatment.

The unpaid bills deprive hospitals of much-needed funds that could pay for medical staff or equipment.

Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley said: "It is an abuse of our National Health Service if those who are not entitled to free treatment get access to care but then do not pay their bills. I would urge the Department of Health to act, especially with foreign embassies, to enforce payment."

Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "The Government should crack down on health tourists freeriding at our expense. It's not the World Health Service, it's the National Health Service."

London's Royal Free and University College hospitals are owed more than £1million by Cypriots, Kuwaitis and Qataris. Hospital managers said that the debts were less than three months old.

The Royal Free, in Hampstead, is owed £4.5million from overseas and private patients. One person owes the hospital £104,000.

Last year, a survey of 106 hospitals by the Tories found that of £27million spent treating overseas patients, about £10million was not repaid.

One NHS manager said:

"With the money we are owed we could build two new district general hospitals."

Comments

[Anonymous]

The £100m quoted is likely only a fraction of the cost of Health Tourism, as many simply register as NHS patients - with no checks made.
As a GP I am aware of a number of my patients who are receiving free NHS care, despite not being British Citizens, or ever having paid a penny in tax in the UK.
One man in his 50's, for example, arriving recently from Gambia, allegedly on business, and then presenting with cancer to our local hospital, is now receiving expensive treatment from our highly pressured Oncology service.
Our PCT washes it hands of the problem, refusing to get involved or offer any but the vaguest of vague guidance - we will get no support if we refuse to register people; and we will no doubt also get the blame for wasting NHS resources at some time in the future. But how can Doctors refuse to treat people who are ill ? Even when we know resources will not be available to others and the NHS is being abused; NHS managers simply turn a blind eye to the problem.