Identification at hospital

[Americangirl13]

A friend of my cousin is over from abroad (not E.U) and quite honestly am worried for my cousin as her friend is living with her and planning to go to hospital for maternity checkup using fake id as she doesn't want to pay for the services. I know hospitals ask for id and bills and I have warned her she could possibly get herself arrested for using false id, defrauding the nhs and get my cousin in trouble in the process but she seem hell bent on going thru with it. Do hospitals actually scan id to see if it's real or not as she seems to think am kicking up a fuss over nothing. I happen to think defrauding the NHS is a big deal and if I really wanted to kick up a fuss I would contact the hospital and warn them (I have thought of doing it actually) is there anything else I could tell her or my cousin for that matter to convince them how serious this is or I should leave them to it?

Despite being an immigrant myself, I've never been asked to provide any ID. But different hospitals may have different rules.

She would need a CHI number as a minimum and to be registered with a GP you need council tax certificate, utility bill, passport etc so I think it would be unlikely. I don't think your cousin will be in trouble though.

I'm not British. I've never been asked for any I.D ever!

What is she planning on doing after the baby is born? Surely then all the documentation for the baby, for registering, the health visitor, paediatric checks all are going to be in the wrong name? Seems more likely to cause problems

According to my cousin she is registered with a gp in her name and she got a letter from the hospital to go for a scan, in it she was asked to bring passport or driving license to prove identity and utility bill to prove she lives at the address which she can't as no bill is in her name. Her visa runs out in six months but she plans to go back home after the child is born. If my cousin won't get in trouble I should probably leave the issue to pan out whichever way coz her friend is now accusing me of causing her stress.

A lot of countries have reciprocal healthcare arrangements ( outside the Eu) so she could be fine anyway and it may depend also on visa she is on. I wouldn't risk it and use fake id - silly idea especially if she actually needs medical attention over and above check ups.

Btw I'm an immgigrant and needed to show ID and bills to register with my doctor but they never asked or looked at my visa status ( I have residency).

I'm not british, I didn't get asked for ID either!

Entitlement to use of NHS is dependent on where you are normally resident, so a lot will depend on type of visa and length of stay. Actual childbirth is free I think (in same way as A&E is free).

There may or may not be checks on entitlement at the hospital. I've never heard of it being mentioned in a scan letter, but would assume that if they do then they mean it. But the ID they ask for is a bit strange - I don't get why they would need address, but if they did then driving licence would cover it. And of course not everyone is household bill payer.

I think it's a bad idea to impersonate someone else for this purpose. Because hospitals and registry offices communicate directly with each other, so how would she register the baby?

Your cousin can't be held responsible for her friends actions.

I think hospitals have their own policies on checking. The Home Office immigration admin office is in the catchment area for my local hospital and I've had requests to prove my immigration status in the letters for both my 12wk scans.

St Thos does this as a matter of course. If entitled to NHS care by virtue of current visa (dependent on subtype) and current residency then should be okay

I think this friend sounds very silly and is likely to be caught out.

I am British and live in London and needed to show various forms of id, address proof etc to get hospital treatment.

I would worry as well. I only have experience from St thomas' hospital (as a previous poster said) where staff do ask for ID and proof of residency and this is very clearly stated in the booking appointment letter. If I understood correctly you cousin's friend will be using a fake ID and also say she is permanently living at your cousins house? So two lies. Not sure how she is going to prove she lives in that house without a bill in her name. If they find out this may implicate your cousin regarding the residency lie. However I am unsure what the penalties may be. If I were your cousin I would certainly would not agree to this. I would be more worried that this person is stating she lives in that house in terms of the council and electoral register finding out.