Overseas visitor charge for using A&E

Voyager2002

DeathByFluffy said:

It's a good thing they're charging for A&E to non-residents - this is what health insurance is for. 
She doesn't pay tax or reside in the UK, so shouldn't have access to free healthcare. 

For once this is something agreeable the Government is doing - what a pleasant change! 

Actually, they have been doing this for the last ten years: perhaps we should give David Cameron the credit. 

To put this in context: the application fee for a British visit visa is more than the cost of attending a private hospital in Turkey and receiving the treatment that she was given here.

Alderbank

Okell said:

Voyager2002 said:

dan_starstream said:

My sister in law came to visit from Turkey.  She had severe pain and so my wife took her to A&E.  For some reason she was not triaged in A&E but sent straight to gastronomy department, where she had a blood test, a quick examination with a Doctor, and a pain killer.  We now have received a bill for over £1,000 because she is an overseas visitor.  I responded with a letter stating she wanted A&E and was never informed of potential costs or that she wasn't in A&E.  We received another letter informing us that she was chargeable and if unpaid it will effect her future VISA applications and the debt will be passed on to a debt agency.  We don't have that kind of money to splash about but I don't know where to turn.

None of the answers have addressed the essential point: she went for a service that is not chargeable, and without any explanation was transferred to a service that was not free. In law, for a contract to be formed it is essential that the "client" is made aware that they are receiving a service for which they will be charged, and this applies to NHS trusts just as much as it does to any private business. If the Trust were to take her to court, they would lose. 

Did the letter give details of the complaints procedure? I find it interesting that you received a reply that did not address the very valid point that you raised.

(There also seems to be an assumption by several posters that A&E is totally free and without charge for non-UK residents.  In the absence of a reciprocal agreement I'm not sure that is true)

Things might have been different in your day, but that assumption comes from the NHS itself.

In "How to access NHS services in England if you are visiting from abroad" the NHS says

"This information is for people who are visiting England from abroad. It tells you how to access different types of healthcare and whether you might need to pay.

Services that are free to everyone: Some services or treatments carried out in an NHS hospital are exempt from charges, so they're free to all. These include A&E services"

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/visiting-or-moving-to-england/how-to-access-nhs-services-in-england-if-you-are-visiting-from-abroad/

It seems clear that the OP's SIL did not need and did not receive A&E services. That leaflet does explain the various steps to go through first such as NHS111, minor injuries, any GP practice, which you should use before going to A&E which should be a last resort for serious illness.

Okell

Ah.  Thanks for that.

I think my error probably stems from a misunderstanding of the UK/ioM reciprocal agreement

DeathByFluffy

Voyager2002 said:

DeathByFluffy said:

It's a good thing they're charging for A&E to non-residents - this is what health insurance is for. 
She doesn't pay tax or reside in the UK, so shouldn't have access to free healthcare. 

For once this is something agreeable the Government is doing - what a pleasant change! 

Actually, they have been doing this for the last ten years: perhaps we should give David Cameron the credit. 

To put this in context: the application fee for a British visit visa is more than the cost of attending a private hospital in Turkey and receiving the treatment that she was given here.

Interesting, I didn't know that - thank you. 

pinkshoes

dan_starstream said:

My sister in law came to visit from Turkey.  She had severe pain and so my wife took her to A&E.  For some reason she was not triaged in A&E but sent straight to gastronomy department, where she had a blood test, a quick examination with a Doctor, and a pain killer.  We now have received a bill for over £1,000 because she is an overseas visitor.  I responded with a letter stating she wanted A&E and was never informed of potential costs or that she wasn't in A&E.  We received another letter informing us that she was chargeable and if unpaid it will effect her future VISA applications and the debt will be passed on to a debt agency.  We don't have that kind of money to splash about but I don't know where to turn.

Has your sister in law been given an itemised bill?

£1000 for a blood test, quick doctor examination, a review of the blood test and a pain killer seems a lot. Are you sure they didn't do anything else?

What sort of blood test was it? I guess these can be quite expensive if it was a very extensive one. 

Your sister in law needs needs to claim this on her travel insurance, although I'm guessing you're posting this because she didn't actually take out travel insurance so you're trying to ascertain whether this needs paying.

I'm not sure why it's up to you to pay it. Just pass on your SIL's details to the hospital if they haven't already got them and she can either pay the bill, or risk not being allowed entry to the UK again.

A friend of mine used to work in the USA. He had private medical insurance with the company he worked for. When he finished his 3 year contract, he decided to do a few weeks of sightseeing before flying back to the UK. Unfortunately he ended up with appendicitis and had emergency surgery to have the appendix removed. He wasn't insured so flew back to the UK owing a lot of money! He's never returned to the USA in case they make him pay! 

Exodi

Brie said:

As for the OP I might suggest that you discuss this further with the department that sent you a letter and perhaps agree that SiL would pay a small amount monthly.  This might come from your bank account but it would remain her debt - that may be sufficient to satisfy Border Control.   ( @Exodi -  your thoughts?  or your wife's??)

I just asked my wife about this possibility and she said if they arranged a payment plan then Border Force would contact the NHS to confirm, however as Turkish are VISA nationals she wouldn't expect they would be able to get a new VISA until they paid it.

Flugelhorn

pinkshoes said:

Has your sister in law been given an itemised bill?

£1000 for a blood test, quick doctor examination, a review of the blood test and a pain killer seems a lot. Are you sure they didn't do anything else?

What sort of blood test was it? I guess these can be quite expensive if it was a very extensive one. 

could well be a standard daily  cost - cheaper than itemising. In GP land we used to charge £75 for consultation (then we are cheap compared with the big shiny hospitals)

elsien

Just to go back a bit to one of the OP points that they weren’t triaged, although it probably makes little difference anyway. If they turned up at A&E and were sent to another department, then they were triaged whether that word was used or not.

born_again

pinkshoes said:

dan_starstream said:

My sister in law came to visit from Turkey.  She had severe pain and so my wife took her to A&E.  For some reason she was not triaged in A&E but sent straight to gastronomy department, where she had a blood test, a quick examination with a Doctor, and a pain killer.  We now have received a bill for over £1,000 because she is an overseas visitor.  I responded with a letter stating she wanted A&E and was never informed of potential costs or that she wasn't in A&E.  We received another letter informing us that she was chargeable and if unpaid it will effect her future VISA applications and the debt will be passed on to a debt agency.  We don't have that kind of money to splash about but I don't know where to turn.

Has your sister in law been given an itemised bill?

£1000 for a blood test, quick doctor examination, a review of the blood test and a pain killer seems a lot. Are you sure they didn't do anything else?

What sort of blood test was it? I guess these can be quite expensive if it was a very extensive one. 

Your sister in law needs needs to claim this on her travel insurance, although I'm guessing you're posting this because she didn't actually take out travel insurance so you're trying to ascertain whether this needs paying.

I'm not sure why it's up to you to pay it. Just pass on your SIL's details to the hospital if they haven't already got them and she can either pay the bill, or risk not being allowed entry to the UK again.

A friend of mine used to work in the USA. He had private medical insurance with the company he worked for. When he finished his 3 year contract, he decided to do a few weeks of sightseeing before flying back to the UK. Unfortunately he ended up with appendicitis and had emergency surgery to have the appendix removed. He wasn't insured so flew back to the UK owing a lot of money! He's never returned to the USA in case they make him pay! 

Wonder if Op gave their address details, & after checking NHS number could not be found for SIL?

pdel61

QrizB said:

OP isn't a big replier; we might not hear from them again on this thread.

Didn't get the reply they wanted, I suspect.