NHS requires proof of eligibility to services

[Iloveantiques]

I've been referred by my dentist to the hospital.

Apparently because I am a new registration (nope, registered with NHS since birth) new to this area (nope, been here nearly 30 years) or a recent arrival to the UK (nope, never lived abroad) I have to prove my eligibility for services without charge.

Is this normal now? does the NHS really make hospitals check the eligibility of everyone newly referred?

I have emailed for an explanation but wondered if anyone else had come across this?

It’s normal and natural to make sure you’re entitled. For proof of residency it’s any proof you have been in the country 180 out of the last 360 days so passport is an easy way to prove that. If you are foreign then you could use a residency permit. Be aware that if you are foreign that not all countries have bilateral healthcare agreements so you’ll have to check the list.

Which is exactly the issue windy was pointing out....

Citizenship isn't what they need.
However, what they do ask for can be an issue to get for some people. Like my friend’s father who lives with her, people in temporary accommodation etc etc

For proof of residency it’s any proof you have been in the country 180 out of the last 360 days so passport is an easy way to prove that

How on earth does a passport prove where you’ve been living?

A passport will not prove that you haven’t been out of the country for the last 180 days. Passports aren’t getting stamped when you come in the uk, incl if it’s a foreign passport.

Not all foreigners have a residency permit (eg EU citizens).

I haven't been given a list of documents. I've been given a form asking me what country I have come from, when I intend to return, my address outside the UK etc.

I can't believe this is the form they send everyone. If it is I bet they soend most of their time fielding phone calls from very confused patients 🤣

Btw a council tax bill doesn’t prove you have been living in the U.K. either. Yes u might well have a house here, pay taxes but still live in another country....

So the very nice system they have out in place doesn’t quite work either....

Exactly @SherlockSays!
I am a resident who also happens to be British.
They only asked me if I was British!
They did not ask if I was a resident.
I could have been a British person living abroad, they did not want to know if I am a resident.

Am I not explaining this right?

For proof of residency it’s any proof you have been in the country 180 out of the last 360 days so passport is an easy way to prove that.

It's not really. If I have dual nationality and travel on my non-UK passport, my UK one won't have any stamps. I could still have UK post to my mums house. I got NHS treatment a few years ago which I had no right to. But they had no facilities to have me pay and I was completely honest.

Is it specifically a passport they want or photo ID to prove you are who you say you are. For most people this will be a passport (or drivers licence) so they might say bring your passport along if you have it as short hand for bring photo id.

To be fair to other posters the NHS can handle checking for overseas residents and eligibility badly and sending a form out asking for nationality is stupid and confusing when you only need to check residence.

Where I live we have ID cards and we have to show them when at the hospital to show entitlement. The UK is ridiculous for suddenly putting in place all these rules without the obvious solution to all such questions.

This is what I have been sent. Overkill...?

Whilst this is a nuisance it isn't insurmountable. A phone call will quickly determine that you have been sent the wrong form and the real evidence needed will be identified
The very positive thing about the NHS is, if this was an emergency, no proof would be asked for or required before treatment.

It’s not an NHS-wide policy. The admin side just doesn’t work like that (neither does provision of clinical services - postcode lottery anyone?)

There is s general expectation that those not entitled to free NHS services should be identified and billed (that has always been the case)

But it’s up to individual trusts how they carry it out,

Actually now I’ve seen the form it seems fine and not heavy handed at all. It’s a single form collecting all the information needed whatever your circumstances. There’s no accusation there.
As an ordinary UK resident most of it will just be left blank by you BUT if you weren’t ordinarily resident then your nationality and usual country of residence does become relevant because if there is a reciprocal agreement in place then you may well still be entitled to free treatment or treatment at a reduced rate.

"Please indicate which of the following you are currently hold"

Say what now?

Out of all those boxes, they'd get the following from me -

Given Name - K
Given Forename - Mitzi
DOB - 13-01-19xx
Address: MitziK's House, MitziK's Street, MitziK's Town, M1 TZI
Telephone Number: 0201234567
Nationality: British

Date of entering the UK: BIRTH
Date of leaving the UK: DEATH, PRESUMABLY.

They would not be getting my employer's details, passport number (for Heaven's sake, I worked for the NHS for enough years when I didn't even have a passport) or anything else. But the odds are that they wouldn't even ask me for anything else, as I am white and have a British accent.

If we, thanks to the Brexit Clusterfuck, suddenly end up with enough British born people returning to the UK from their villas and apartments in the sun for free medical treatment to be noticed, I reckon that will change.

Most that already come back from Spain/Portugual/Italy/France as soon as something sounds a bit expensive have no intention of admitting they are British born healthcare tourists, but I'd imagine heavily tanned grandmothers can probably expect a bit more quizzing in the future and we'll be seeing lots of sadfaces in the Daily Venom as a result

@gamerwidow you honestly don't think that form is a little heavy handed? And most likely confusing for many people? It doesn't say anywhere only fill in the applicable bits. If my very ill mum had got this before her treatment it would have sent her into a right spin

Ho hum. I'm sure that the cost involved in this unnecessary administration is more than worth it...

I'm not arguing that you shouldn't have to prove your eligibility and I'm sure the NHS suffer financially from health tourism (although I understand it is very hard to put a figure on)

I don't agree that, for this hospital in particular, this is the right way to go about getting the necessary information.

Bit stuffed if you don't have a passport nor driving licence... or are not on bills as they were all set up before you moved in or you are not old enough etc.

What got my goat was the poster at my local hospital proclaiming the NHS isn't free for everyone. The NHS isn't free for anyone. It is free at the point of delivery and funded by the people for the people. When we moved GP required passports I think.

If anyone asks I'll be tempted to take my tax statement which now sets out on the reverse, amongst other things, my NHS contribution.

Yes I've had to give my national insurance number / proof of ID when attending two separate hospitals (even a &e) once in 2012. The other in 2016. I was born here and don't really have an issue with it as I can see why they need to check.

DS has to have a very minor procedure done at hospital. The letter that came with his booking requested that we bring proof his British citizenship. I had also had a minor procedure done at the same hospital a month before, and wasn’t required to provide any proof. I have a very British sounding surname, whereas ds (100% British nationality) has dh’s very foreign sounding surname.

I would like to think they didn’t just base it on him having a ‘funny sounding’ surname but it really made me wonder.

What a badly written form. Shame the NHS has money to waste on sending out unnecessary forms but no money to spend on hiring someone who can actually write correct English.

You should be able to answer most of the questions literally, though you'll be a bit stuck on your departure date (!) and the last section. Personally I would just fill it out and play innocent if they ask any questions. They obviously enjoy making work for themselves!

Sorry Mitzi but not all of us Brits in Europe are in sunny villas and apartments in Spain ((though it would be nice!). Some of us live in ordinary houses in ordinary towns and villages and do ordinary jobs (where I am we have hotter summers but colder and longer winters -snow today! - if you're interested). The healthcare system in France is actually very good and I can't imagine anyone there rushing back to the U.K. for treatment. In my experience it's quite the opposite and there are plenty of people who arrange treatment when visiting family here. A friend's relative was diagnosed with ovarian cancer by a local hospital after being fobbed off for 2 years in the U.K. Another friend who has lived here 7 years is getting 4 rounds of funded IVF when she would get none in her home country.

I have actually been treated at my mum's English GP as a Brit resident in Europe, when I developed an ear infection on a visit. I was falling over myself to pay but they just asked me to fill out a (much friendlier and better written) form for reciprocal EU care and apologised that I had to pay for 2 NHS prescriptions.

That's overkill.

Our NHS trust sends a letter with a list of proofs required depending on your residency status. No extra form.