HEALTH TOURISTS ARE NOT CHECKED OUT -- WHY?

According to reports the National Health Service is losing £12million a year which is far too much out of a very tight budget. This amount of money is spent on so called Health Tourists. They are people from overseas like Africa and Asia and demand to be treated by the hospitals. They never lived in the UK and have contributed to the NHS by paying National Insurance. When they are treated they will fly back and that is the end of the story as far as they are concerned.

Now by Law the hospitals should check and ask for bills, pay slips or bank statements to prove they are living in this country for at least a year.

The TV programme Panorama run a six months undercover investigation and they discovered that hospitals do not ask for these documents. The Health Minister Anna Soubry appeared on the programme and admitted that the system is flawed.

During a Freedom of Information request to 133 hospitals in England and Wales 45 admitted they do not do this check and 38 never replied.

During further investigation the BBC Panorama also discovered a black market whereby doctors selling hospital referrals for up to £800 which allows patients free care.

Furthermore, the original figure has increased in the meantime by 450 per cent and it is now a staggering £40million of unpaid bills.

According to the law only casualty and emergency maternity care is free to people who are not residence in the UK.

With all due respect and sympathy but this has to be stopped.  £40million to the NHS which budget had been drastically cut down is a tremendous loss and not fair to the people of Britain who pay their National Insurance.

This is exactly the point where the government and trusts which run the hospitals should step in.

The other point is wastage by paying outside consultants paying millions advising which doctor and nurse will be laid off.  Surely the trust or committee which runs the hospital would have been just as capable or even more so to make a decision. They know the staff far better than outsiders.

WHY IS THIS GOVERNMENT ALWAYS SPENDING MONEY IN THE WRONG PLACE WHEN IT IS ALWAYS DEMANDING AUSTERITY?