Asked to prove NHS treatment eligibility for my three year old

[RedRose1612]

I was just checking an email inbox for the first time in a few weeks and came across an email I'd missed with a letter attached from Manchester Royal Eye Hospital asking for proof of my 3YO DD's eligibility for the free treatment she's received there. For context, she sees the outpatient paediatric orthoptic clinic every few months to monitor her hyperopia (longsightedness) and associated accommodative esotropia.

The letter was dated 13th April and asked for evidence to be submitted by 27th April, so I've missed the deadline by a fair while! I sent a photo of her passport and a recent utility bill this afternoon and hope that's enough to satisfy them and I don't get a fine!

Reflecting on it this evening though, I'm really puzzled as to why they've asked for this information as DD was born in the UK and has only ever been abroad once for a long weekend in Paris! I can't see any reason why she might have been flagged up on their system, unless the NHS is routinely in the habit of checking children's eligibility now?

Anyone experienced anything similar? Do I have to worry about any charges after I supplied the requested information late?

Thanks!

I imagine its the way things will go now, to appease the Reform voters

More to the point, who the hell doesn't check their emails for weeks at a time?!

My Ds10 has to see consultants at both local hospitals and the Evalina in London , to monitor a condition he was born with. His dad is not a British citizen and he has a surname that also does not sound British. I have never been asked for his proof of eligibility for NHS treatment. Surely your child’s medical records go back to her birth. They can’t fine you for something you have not falsely claimed .

I often don’t check mine for weeks at time, I have various disabilities that affect my memory, cognitive function, hand mobility etc, I physically can’t do it everyday and I’m for once a week at least but when I’m having a flare of multiple issues, it can be a couple of weeks.

I check my work email once a day, I check my personal email once a blue moon.

Seriously, it’s maybe once every three months if I’m really feeling organised.

You make it sound more taxing than posting on mumsnet.

If logged in on your phone then they get glanced at to make sure you aren't missing anything important, as the OP is finding out.

Newsflash: different people do different things

Not everyone checks their emails all the time.

Eligibility for NHS treatment is based on whether you are "ordinarily resident" by the government's definition, not whether you were born in the UK.

If the hospital wants to check eligibility they are entitled to do so.

Could it be that they do random spot checks on eligibility?

Are you sure it wasn't a phishing scam?

there were some threads a while back about something similar.
seemed to be to do with child not being logged and entering/leaving the county on one leg of the holiday abroad.
Will see if I can find a link

Actually it was to do with benefits being stopped in error
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/21/hmrc-anti-fraud-scheme-that-wrongly-cut-child-benefits-to-resume
however; the same issue could also affect NHS eligibility, so may be related?

Fine, but then shit like missing important deadlines happens and you've no-one to blame but yourselves.

The OP isn't blaming anyone, she's just asking a question.

In my experience there’s never anything that important, if an organisation needs to get hold of me they call or send a letter.

Agree this is batshit, no idea why everyone is giving you such a hard time about this comment. In 2026 I think people should regularly scan emails in case anything important (like this) arrives in their inbox.

This happened to us and we were actually billed for emergency treatment DD had when she was 3. She was adopted (from within the UK) and I did wonder if that had created some sort of glitch in her record as she’d had a name change.

we get asked this in our area every time we have a hospital appointment via a form. It’s easy enough to fill in and say you are British and have always lived here. Surely it’s good to check people are using a service for free that they aren’t entitled to?

Occasionally my DS’s appointment letters say I will need to prove his eligibility when we come to the appointment. It’s not every hospital that he’s seen by that asks, but it has been happening for a few years now, it’s not a particularly new thing.

And we are never actually asked to prove it when we do turn up. I mean, he’s just turned 18 and he’s been seen by multiple specialists at almost every London hospital since birth, so it’s a bit late for them to suddenly start asking in any case 🤷‍♀️

Thanks everyone!

Yeah it was a long time to go without checking them but it's not my main personal email account, which is logged in on my phone, and I stopped using it two years ago. My previous married name is in that email address and after my divorce I reverted to my maiden name and previous email account. I check it sporadically but it's usually just filled with spam. Also the hospital has never communicated with me via email before, always by letter, and I didn't even know they had an email address for me. It's certainly not one I would have ever given them so I don't know if they got it, maybe from my GP record or NHS login?

After some internet searches I'm not too worried about being charged for the treatment because it's not in question that she was eligible for it at no cost this whole time. I've just heard of people being issued penalty charge notices for not supplying evidence in time, however I'm not sure if these are still payable when eligibility is proven later.

I will certainly not allow as much time to pass before checking that email account again, it will be a weekly habit from now on! Still I can imagine lots of people in my situation could be caught out, especially if they never had any reason to expect they would have to prove eligibility. Two weeks is quite a tight deadline especially if all you receive is one email, no follow up texts or phone calls. Also you'd think the hospital would have the common sense to realise that if they've been sending out appointment letters to our UK address this past year and we've been showing up for said appointments then that in itself proves we are ordinarily resident?! Plus DD was referred by our GP who asked for birth certificate and proof of address when we registered. I don't see how the hospital could have any reasonable belief that DD was ineligible for free treatment and they would have had all necessary evidence on her NHS record.

I did come across an article about a family who experienced something similar, although in this case the patient was a baby! https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nhs-letter-newborn-baby-eight-day-old-identity-documents-free-healthcare-right-violet-nik-horne-latha-london-north-west-trust-a7955211.html
In that case the hospital said the letter was sent out in error. My DD has an Indian middle name and surname and it does make you wonder...

I'm going to ring them first thing tomorrow and clarify a) what the reason was for sending the letter and b) will there be any consequence for sending the requested evidence late.