Passport checks considered for pregnant NHS patients

[LurkingHusband]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37621239

Pregnant patients could have to prove they are eligible for free NHS treatment by showing ID such as a valid passport, under plans being considered by one London hospital.
St George's says the checks would help tackle health tourism and would only be for non-urgent patients - emergency cases would get automatic care.
^It says such a move is in line with what guidelines recommend.
But critics say the checks could be potentially dangerous.^
St George's says it has a duty to use resources wisely, as well as provide care and treatment to patients requiring the hospital's services. The hospital has a high number of patients from overseas who are not eligible for NHS treatment.
The government said a pilot was a good idea and it would be keen to see the results.

(contd)

It is possible to precis the story as "The only thing worse than a foreigner, is a poor foreigner".

Want2BSupermum - this isn't about you and your DC with three Western passports...

People will take the piss. After the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 there was a loophole granting citizenship to all babies born on the island of Ireland. The loophole was closed in 2004 but in that period our maternity services were completely swamped by women arriving in advanced stages of pregnancy and it put terrible pressure on existing services. An obstetrician I know told me his tipping point was a lawyer from South Africa turning up and announcing that she would soon be giving birth to quads and the hospital needed to prepare. He and other senior doctors wrote to the government to say they couldn't cope anymore. Rationally, if people see a loophole like EU citizenship for their baby or free maternity care they'll try to exploit it. Doesn't mean they should be allowed to.

Whenever we need medical treatment in the UK I always say that we are not eligible for the NHS. Nobody ever asks or spots our address on the temporary patient form. About 8 times out of 10 I'm told that we're British so of course we're eligible. Occasionally we've had to pay at the GP's in cash, sometimes we've basically been told to stop wittering on about it and they literally wouldn't take our money.

A couple of years ago one family member needed hospital treatment. Nobody asked or picked up on our foreign address on the form. I told them repeatedly that we weren't resident and that our insurance would pay if they could give us a bill. In the end we did receive one (non-itemised, just a total amount, but that's another problem) and it was into the thousands. We could quite easily have walked out of the hospital without paying a penny. Some people probably do, without realising that they have done anything wrong.

I do have a problem with women's services being singled out for scrutiny. And would prefer childbirth to come under emergency care. If people can't pay they won't pay and should be treated anyway. But at least mop up the people who have insurance.