Living overseas visiting UK for surgery on NHS
WabbitWabbit
Posts: 97 Forumite
Not sure if this is the right place to post, please move if not.
Can someone who was born in the UK but has lived outside of Europe for the last 12 years return to the UK for surgery under the NHS?
Can someone who was born in the UK but has lived outside of Europe for the last 12 years return to the UK for surgery under the NHS?
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Comments
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This may be helpful https://www.surreyandsussex.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Entitlement-to-NHS-Hospital-Treatment-for-Non-Resident-UK-Citizens.pdf
It looks as if the answer may depend on what country they are living in, their residential status there and whether or not ther is a r3ciprocal health agreement.Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.0 -
almost certainly the answer is no
nationality has no effect on entitlement, the 'test' is whether you're ordinarily resident in the uk, if you've lived overseas and intend to return overseas then you're not ordinarily resident0 -
How would the returning person be found out?Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.0
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If you have treatment within NHS, normally there is a referral from a GP.
Hospitals do basic checks on ID, address etc. Hospitals do access centralised patient records.
I had a minor op and when the treatment document was printed, it had all my details showing, including name of my GP. The particular GP had not referred me, but the NHS had all my details from my NHS patient records.
Whether someone visiting the UK and receiving treatment would receive an invoice to pay, is a question we can't answer. They might have to provide their foreign address and be contacted about payment.The comments I post are personal opinion. Always refer to official information sources before relying on internet forums. If you have a problem with any organisation, enter into their official complaints process at the earliest opportunity, as sometimes complaints have to be started within a certain time frame.0 -
Thank you for your replies. I did wonder how they would know that they lived outside the EU.
They were here about nine months ago for a couple of months and have been back here for almost a month and they are only here for surgery.0 -
WabbitWabbit wrote: »Thank you for your replies. I did wonder how they would know that they lived outside the EU.
They were here about nine months ago for a couple of months and have been back here for almost a month and they are only here for surgery.
Well they'll be here for a while, if the surgery is non urgent they'll be placed on a waiting list like everyone else. As it's not going through A&E it's elective surgery which can be cancelled over and over if the hospital is busy (most are). Most hospitals are missing their targets for elective surgeries and some elective surgeries aren't even being done any more except for extreme cases. Our hospital has stopped stripping varicose veins for example.0 -
There is also the risk that they could get found out (and people do) in which case, the hospital will be in their right to send them an invoice and pursue payment.0
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yep, they may well get away with it, I'm sure many people do, but they'd need to lie and omit to tell the truth at several points in their treatment.
If the truth does emerge then there may well be a large bill heading their way. In these cash strapped times the NHS is becoming more strict and the mechanisms for recouping costs more robust than they used to be0 -
See also
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-overseas-visitors-hospital-charging-regulations/summary-of-changes-made-to-the-way-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care
"People living outside the EEA
People who live outside the EEA, including former UK residents, should now make sure they are covered by personal health insurance, unless an exemption applies to them. Anyone who does not have insurance will be charged at 150% of the NHS national tariff for any care they receive."Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Some rules may be different in other parts of UK.0 -
Well they'll be here for a while, if the surgery is non urgent they'll be placed on a waiting list like everyone else. As it's not going through A&E it's elective surgery which can be cancelled over and over if the hospital is busy (most are). Most hospitals are missing their targets for elective surgeries...
Just one example of the waiting times. My brother-in-law does a job which requires him to be on his feet all day. Hip pain was so severe that the consultant said he had to have the operation by the end of January (this was in November), cut a long story short and the operation actually happened at the end of June. Anybody coming to the UK hoping for quick treatment will need deep pockets because they will need to go private for that.0
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