Is it U to use the NHS when you dont live in the UK ?

[bijou3]

My sister had a baby last weekend, the poor nurses were so busy as the maternity ward was full. Some of the Mothers in the ward were talking apparently 5 women in the ward were from the Middle East (UK citizens living there) that had come back to the UK to give birth. They were laughing about how they earn TAX free money but instead of using their health care abroad they use the NHS FOC for each delivery. I couldn?t believe that 5 women were all sponging off the NHS in one hospital, how many others do this?

How would you get maternity care without a GP?

It would bug me if someone emigrated and came back to try and abuse the nhs although again how would you get routine healthcare eg smear without a GP? I wouldn't blame someone for returning to their home country to give birth. I would want to be somewhere where I understood the language properly and understood all the processes. Id also want to be near my family for at least the first few weeks.

twilight my friend had terrible problems, born in Singapore, both parents were British, father was in the RN and stationed in Singapore.

I've worked abroad a lot as have many colleagues. They have all still paid full NI contributions though to ensure a full OAP when the time comes

This was taken from an expat forum ....

I flew home to have both my boys in uk. You need to book appt with your GP as soon as you get home because the midwifery services are all arranged through your GP ( including postnatal visits etc) if you turned up at an A&E in labour they wouldn't turn you away but a few more questions may well be asked! If you are staying with family just book an appointment to register with their GP. They will refer you to the hospital. I flew home on a Sunday, saw my GP Monday and was in the hospital Wednesday for check up. Son born following Sunday. health visitor, midwife etc automatically arranged from there. I didn't pay cos I was still registered with my GP.

Second one was a bit different. he was premature and needed to stay one month in SCBU. at one point I had patient liaison services investigating me as they said I had been out of the country more than 90 days and so wasn't entitled to NHS care ( thanks to Gordon Brown who shortened the time you could be out the country) His neonatal bed was costing £2500 per day so imagine my bill! Anyway, the care is excellent and my baby was my priority but they ended up not charging me...I had actually been back a fair bit part living here and there over the years. if you have an address in the UK you will be fine. If not then my best advice is to register with the GP of whoever you are staying with and tell them you have moved back to the UK.....you might get away with it!

i know someone who pops over from usa to have little things done on the nhs. kills two birds with one stone cos she sees her family and gets the health care done

hope she gets billed

I still maintain that they just want to be near family and are trying to find a way to do that. Maybe if the private sector in the UK had more reasonable prices people wouldn't do this sort of thing. Or if the NHS offered the option of paying for their services? I know you can do it for emergencies, but for mat. care? I'm not so sure. I would be financially helpful to the system and the mothers who come back for family support and to be in a familiar place and comfortable with the language and the system etc. wouldn't feel like frauds

I see Jumping. Didn't happen to me,sounds peculiar, but I'm not doubting you. There are cases (like mine) where you can't pay NI as you're paying NI in the country you're working in and some countries treat that as fraud.

The latest figures show the average birth costs around £1200 in the UK so for someone earning a TAX free wage this is not a lot of money. Anyway its not my problem I dont use the NHS but I think its wrong that others abuse it.

Hmmm, I really can't get worked up about this one tbh. Surely if they are UK citizens they must have lived here and paid tax at some point

If you would exclude immigrants from using the NHS would you also exclude them from working in the NHS?? I was pretty bloody pleased to see the foreign doctor who saved my life after my womb collapsed.

Not everyone has a GP or is allowed access to one (controlling partners) , there are many varied reasons for that. There is a large illegal immigrant population working in this country under the radar. I don't suppose they all give birth in a shed so that attention isnt drawn to them. European health tourists, a reciprocal agreement between EU member states would allow people to come here and use out facilities. There is a big movement in West Africans doing so as there is a loop hole in German law that allows EU residence after 2 years.

I know the DM upsets the fragilities of some people but it's always the easiest read:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012757/Bimbo-Ayelabola-Nigerian-cost-NHS-200k-married-tycoon.html

no samfellow, it is a different issue, these are british immigrants in a different country. It's quite complicated imo... I can't decide where I stand

I agree HQOTS, but they dont live here now and its breaking the law.

re european health tourists, they DO pay though in their own countries through their taxes there, and the NHS gets paid by their equivalent

yes but there are people breaking far worse laws and taking the piss out of the system a lot more. It's really not worth getting upset over.

This absolutely is worth getting upset over.

These people are stealing public resources that belong to people who live here.

There is nothing civilised about letting them get away with it while people resident here and entitled to care are having it rationed.

If you emigrate then you lose the benefits of living here and gain those if living where you move to.

That's the deal.

Being a British citizen does not entitle you to NHS care, and scamming it like this is benefit fraud.

bijou, can you please not put the tax in capitals in every post, I feel like you're shouting at me

The problem is not how much a birth costs, but that there's not such a choice on the NHS (afaic) unless it's an emergency.
You can't go to the GP and say "i'm pregnant, I'm an immigrant in UAE but I came back to give birth, I want to register and pay for my care".
So unless you have the 15000 it costs for a birth and aftercare in a private clinic there's no choice but breaking the law. Plus a lot of people don't trust the private sector and if something goes wrong they'll be transferred to the nearest public hospital anyway.

I live in an area with very high rates of immigration and a lot of transient residents. (non nationals - so slightly different scenario)

They seemed to require additional documents at booking scans and I overheard a mw or similar talking to a student mw and telling them that they have to check so that they are billed properly as they are not entitled to care if they are not ordinarily resident.

They also said something about getting quite a lot turn up in labour and they have to deliver their baby. Apparently they disappear again after birth so they don't get billed. They also talked about that causing bigger complications cos they have had no antenatal care.

I also know of someone that has previously had cancer have all of their follow-up care in UK since emmigrating. I think they do actually spend the required number of days here every 90 days but still think its a bit immoral.

I have to say, I have read a lot of threads slaying immigrant in the UK, it's the first time I read one slaying british immigrants abroad, quite inventive indeed

YANBU anyone who does this is acting fraudulently. It isn't the case that anyone can come to the NHS for non emergency care and not be billed for treatment. There are strict rules for charging those not normally resident in the UK and unless they are covered by an exemption clause they are breaking those rules. Citizenship is irrelevant because access to the NHS is governed by residence not citizenship

It doesn't "all balance out", it steals resources from people who are entitled to them and need them.

It's totally wrong.

If you move to the UAE and you don't like how they do things there, then either pay your way here or fuck off.

Nobody forced you to move there.

This is the kind of shit that will mean there is no NHS for our children.

Well said AThingInYourLife.

so, I take it there is an option to pay for mat care on the NHS?

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5275586.stm

An old article from 2006, but valid.