Baby born prematurely abroad - any help with medical expenses?

Nicki

puddy wrote: »

if he turned up with a baby and a birth certificate with his name on for hte baby and he was entitled to care then the baby would be entitled to care. not sure what is rude about pointing that out. if the hospital have the time and money to do DNA tests then im sure they're welcome to do so. does the gp and hospital ask for your child's birth certificate every time they treat your child for something?

No but they would do if I had no permanent UK residence, I was not married, my "partner" was obviously not a UK national and the child looked mixed race or the same race as the "partner"

Do you even know whether it is possible to register the father on a Thai birth certificate if the couple aren't married? It isn't always done here, even if the couple are still together. Think Ed Milliband for example.

I did not say the child would definitely not be entitled to treatment. I said they may not be, as is the case. You seem very sure that any Tom !!!!!! or Harry can turn up with a child born overseas and get free treatment from them, and I am still far from convinced that is the case.

peachyprice

Nicki wrote: »

I did not say the child would definitely not be entitled to treatment. I said they may not be, as is the case. You seem very sure that any Tom !!!!!! or Harry can turn up with a child born overseas and get free treatment from them, and I am still far from convinced that is the case.

Really?

To get the baby into the UK the father, a UK citizen with a UK passport, would have to take the birth certificate to the UK consulate, if they were happy enough to issue the passport then, yes, the father could bring his mixed race child back to the UK for treatment.

There is no pre-requisite to have a permanent UK address for a UK passport to be issued, just proof of citizenship, which would be enough for the child to get medical treatment.

It's all pretty academic anyway as presumably the premmie baby would not be fit enough to travel to the UK anyway.

Nicki

I agree its academic for this baby who cant travel but if you read the nhs link I posted early then you would know that a UK passport is irrelevant when it comes to deciding whether someone is entitled to free nhs care. To qualify, the father and the baby have to be living in the UK, not habitually resident abroad except in certain very narrow circumstances.

Could the baby not come into the country with its mother on a visitors visa with a Phillipine passport by the way? You and Puddy are making a lot of assumptions to support a claim that the child definitely would be treated for free. I am not saying it definitely wouldn't be, but I wouldn't wager any serious money on it being treated free either.

peachyprice

Nicki wrote: »

Could the baby not come into the country with its mother on a visitors visa with a Phillipine passport by the way?

Of course it could, but there would be no way that it would receive any NHS treatment at all. Infact they may not even be let into the country, so it would make no sense to bring a child into the UK without getting a UK passport first.

Nicki

peachyprice wrote: »

Of course it could, but there would be no way that it would receive any NHS treatment at all.

The official guidance is that anyone presenting at an NHS hospital will be treated but that those who don't qualify for free treatment will have to pay for the privilege. In practice I understand A and E is free at the point of use and billed later, but outpatient treatment and hospital admissions are billed and paid for up front.

lynzpower

Nicki wrote: »

The official guidance is that anyone presenting at an NHS hospital will be treated but that those who don't qualify for free treatment will have to pay for the privilege. In practice I understand A and E is free at the point of use and billed later, but outpatient treatment and hospital admissions are billed and paid for up front.

not in my experience where ( for example) an american tourist in London gets knocked over by a bus: treat first- bill later. Many admissions are not pre billed.

Outpatients for example are just not allowed ( apart from GUM and famiy planning as i understand it)

puddy

you're right, i know that people who come into the GP surgery with a mixed race child accompanied by a white dad are always asked to present their passports and birth certificates! i dont use emoticons, but one is called for in this instance

puddy

Nicki wrote: »

I agree its academic for this baby who cant travel but if you read the nhs link I posted early then you would know that a UK passport is irrelevant when it comes to deciding whether someone is entitled to free nhs care. To qualify, the father and the baby have to be living in the UK, not habitually resident abroad except in certain very narrow circumstances.

Could the baby not come into the country with its mother on a visitors visa with a Phillipine passport by the way? You and Puddy are making a lot of assumptions to support a claim that the child definitely would be treated for free. I am not saying it definitely wouldn't be, but I wouldn't wager any serious money on it being treated free either.

yes, im making the assumption that the father is simply working abroad as the OP said, not habitually resident there. that is a different matter

i have never heard and will never hear (i should think) of a dad turning up to have his child treated and questioned about his paternity or otherwise of his child becuse the child is a different colour. why do we assume (and it has been assumed in this thread by others) that only the mother can present this child for treatment, the dad has just as much right as the mother

Nicki

Presumably dad is registered with the GP because Oh Yes he lives in the UK. Where is the roll eyes smiley when you need it. Bizarrely enough, the children might also be registered with the GP, or the GP's surgery knows that he has parental responsibility for them. Or can I lift any random child off the street and wander into the GP and ask them to say vaccinate them, even though they aren't my child and the parent might not want it.

For some reason you are both trying to turn this into a racial issue, when it is nothing of the kind, and also trying to argue aggressively for a position which is the direct opposite of what the government has spelled out in minute detail is the case on its own website. Whatever! You are right your posts cry out desparatey for an emoticon.

Nicki

puddy wrote: »

yes, im making the assumption that the father is simply working abroad as the OP said, not habitually resident there. that is a different matter

NHS classes being out of the country for more than 3 months as being habitually resident abroad. Go figure!