Are British expats (live in Oz) entitled to NHS when visiting UK?

[Pedestriancrossing]

Really hoping someone can point me to the answer as this is stressing me out.
My elderly PILs emigrated from UK to Australia 20 years ago. We have a family wedding coming up here in the uk and they will be coming over and staying with us for 6 weeks. Neither is in very good health and MIL has limited mobility, is no opiate painkillers and early stages of dementia.
My question is, would they be able to access NHS services (in England) for free? Or would they be charged?
Obviously neither has a GP.
I doubt they have taken out travel insurance due to cost, and are probably assuming they have free access to the aNHS (as they are British and lived in UK for many years, paid NI etc)
DHs family never talk about anything serious so the question over insurance hasn't been asked, and won't be.
Please can someone advise on what would happen if they needed hospital care while visiting?
Thank you

The NHS is a residency based system, so if you aren't a UK resident you aren't entitled to use the NHS without paying for it.

even if you are a former resident there will be charges, why didn’t they get travel insurance?

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/visiting-or-moving-to-england/visitors-from-outside-the-european-economic-area-eea/

Treatment in A&E and GP surgeries is free. For anything else (e.g if they were admitted an an inpatient from A&E) they would need to pay.

Full guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care/how-the-nhs-charges-overseas-visitors-for-nhs-hospital-care#

It’s rechargeable. And access to emergency healthcare aside, they absolutely need travel insurance in case of e.g. an accident or health incident which meant that they needed repatriation / medically attended return flights. It doesn’t matter whether DH’s family want to talk about anything serious, they’d be idiots to fly without adequate insurance.

I think you have to be resident in the UK, and you loose entitlement to free NHS care after 6 months living abroad and outside the EU.
https://expatnetwork.com/expats-have-to-pay-for-nhs-care/

They are foolish if they don’t have travel insurance. What if they are taken ill while in a flight or during transit m. Not worth the risk if they are not in good health.
Regarding the NHS, it depends. Although it is residency based, there are reciprocal agreements with various countries for emergency treatment. A visiting cousin was taken ill a couple of years ago and admitted. She had all her insurance documents etc with her as she was sure she would need them but not once was she asked about payment then, and since. My non-resident DB also needed to see a GP when here as his asthma flared up unexpectedly. He was seen as a temporary patient and sent to hospital for tests and treatment. Again, at no cost and no request for payment, even though he had good insurance and was prepared to pay if it had declined to cover him.

re treatment in a& E is free, it says not including emergency treatment if admitted to hospital.
Seeing the GP is free, any prescriptions are not.

Thanks this is what I feared. I am sure they think they would get free NHS care.
In the event of needing care, would you be treated and then invoiced?

In theory they should have to pay but in practice virtually no one is ever asked to.

This is what I was wondering!

Unless a clinician deems it an "emergency" as such, I can't remember the exact phrasing, they'd have to pay upfront before treatment. If they don't make payment either before and after their details are passed to the home office/immigration so can have an impact on them visiting again.

Agreed. I don’t think the system is robust enough to recover money from temporary users who then leave the country.

Have they arrived yet? I assume not as you say they "will be coming over". In that case they can still take out travel insurance. Yes, it will be expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as the potential costs should they not be covered.

This is false. They actively pursue this in the trust where my BIL works.

They would be very foolish to travel without travel insurance at their age. Unbelievable that they would consider it. A small cost compared to flying.

Not quite true. Both my cousin and brother (no payment requested) have been in the UK several times since their use of the NHS and it has not been raised by immigration or any other official body.

There's a reciprocal healthcare agreement in place between the UK and Australia so potentially they may be covered under that depending on their Australian status?
Although if they haven't travelled yet the easiest and and safest option is to just buy travel insurance. People on here may be able to recommend companies that are good for pre existing conditions.

They’ve not arrived yet, so just tell them to take out travel insurance. You say they won’t because of the cost, but they’re flying half way around the world for a party and a 6 week holiday so they’re not exactly destitute.

They've not lived here for 20 years. They need to pay for healthcare.

"In theory they should have to pay but in practice virtually no one is ever asked to."

Absolutely untrue. I ended up in intensive care with sepsis two years ago (British citizen but US resident) and they sent me a lot of bills for a lot of money. If they think travel insurance is expensive, it's a much cheaper option than if they end up in hospital here.

To PPs I totally agree that they should have travel insurance to cover the journey in full, but unfortunately I am not in control of the situation. They haven't arrived yet.

Have you told them that they won't be eligible for free NHS care?

DHs family never talk about anything serious so the question over insurance hasn't been asked, and won't be.

well, if it’s stressing you out, then you need to ask the question. For all you know they might have insurance and you’re stressing about nothing.
or you literally don’t worry about it - not my circus, not my monkeys kind of thing.

What happens if one of them becomes ill on the first flight on the way from NZ? Do they think the government in Dubai / Singapore / wherever will give them free health care ?

Of course they can’t travel without insurance ! Id refuse to have then stay with me without a proper plan for their health needs , including their insurance details with the 24 hour emergency number.

Are they bringing 8 weeks meds with them ? They need a list of all their prescriptions item.

Your Dh needs to ask then for all this NOW before they need NZ. He is foolish and negligent to just ignore this - I can only assume he doesn’t love his parents if he acts like this .

How is he getting 6 weeks annual leave to look after then when they are here in the uk?

Do you have a downstairs bedroom and bathroom for your MIL with Limited mobility ? Is your bathroom accessible with grab rails, a suitable shower etc ?

About 7 years ago a friend was visiting from a European country and needed an emergency hospital admission due to a sudden illness. Treatment was covered under EU. But she needed a medical evacuation home and that was £11,000 that her insurance covered.

I would be very worried they don’t have travel insurance for the journey even more so than the stay in the UK. I’m assuming they’re not coming on a non stop flight and I would worry they’d be taken ill in a stop over country or so poorly on the flight a diversion would be necessary. Would that incur a charge?