Showing ID to get medical treatment

[Margarita Ma]

As the average Hospital Appointment cost is around Three hundred pounds the new Visa Charge is effectively creating a deficit. and is an extra expence in issuing a Visa

Why Is it not standard practice to check a persons NHS no. at the reception desk?

When referred by a GP Dentist Or Ophthalmologist to a hospital for treatment There is a referring letter, either sent or given to the prospective patient. This should contain your NHS no. and results in being put on a list for a first appointment and examination where notes are taken. Everyone attending a hospital first sees a receptionist, where the appointment letter should be shown. If you have never been to hospital before you should take your NHS no. ID with you as well as the referral letter.

The appointment letters are pro-forma with space for date of appointment or a number to call to set up the appointment and the relevant consultant team. Surely it is not too difficult to sort out the wolf in sheep's clothing. The only time you should roll up for an appointment without your letter of appointment and or NHS ID is in an emergency.

Too many people have been looking and talking about the NHS as if it is free rather than free at point of delivery financed by contributions through NI. I have had to explain to people from outside the UK that everyone needs to eat and being paid is what that allows people to eat. That is why we pay National Insurance, Tax and now additional Pension contributions when we do paid work.

[monkey104]

As the average Hospital Appointment cost is around Three hundred pounds the new Visa Charge is effectively creating a deficit. and is an extra expence in issuing a Visa

Why Is it not standard practice to check a persons NHS no. at the reception desk?

When referred by a GP Dentist Or Ophthalmologist to a hospital for treatment There is a referring letter, either sent or given to the prospective patient. This should contain your NHS no. and results in being put on a list for a first appointment and examination where notes are taken. Everyone attending a hospital first sees a receptionist, where the appointment letter should be shown. If you have never been to hospital before you should take your NHS no. ID with you as well as the referral letter.

The appointment letters are pro-forma with space for date of appointment or a number to call to set up the appointment and the relevant consultant team. Surely it is not too difficult to sort out the wolf in sheep's clothing. The only time you should roll up for an appointment without your letter of appointment and or NHS ID is in an emergency.

Too many people have been looking and talking about the NHS as if it is free rather than free at point of delivery financed by contributions through NI. I have had to explain to people from outside the UK that everyone needs to eat and being paid is what that allows people to eat. That is why we pay National Insurance, Tax and now additional Pension contributions when we do paid work.

 

At least it is only creating a £100 deficit as opposed to a £300 deficit. And only that if every visa applicant attends hospital.

[phil752]

At least it is only creating a £100 deficit as opposed to a £300 deficit. And only that if every visa applicant attends hospital.

 

yep your right but its £4000 + if they do, over 300 pregnant women were turned around by border control last year. On what called the Lagos shuffle, where women are coming to have their second or third child here

[Cyclone]

On the wireless (Radio5) last evening they interviewed a Doctor who explained the way it should be done.

 

Emergency treatment - no change at all.

 

Children - no change at all.

How do you establish whether someone is 15.9 or 17.9 and not over whatever threshold is set?

 

According to this doctor we all give our details BEFORE we receive our treatment now. As he says verifying your identity would cost almost nothing, it's a simple task to ask for a driving licence, passport, utility bill, National Insurance Number or whatever to confirm who you are.

 

I cannot see a problem implementing it. It's a no brainer, if implemented it would save a great deal of OUR money as health Tourism is rife.

 

Angel1.

 

I don't think health tourism is a great cost to the NHS, but there is more money that can be recovered, and if it's a net gain, then I don't see why not.

 

---------- Post added 24-11-2016 at 08:52 ----------

 

I expect they'll give it a bash, make a hash of it and then get bent over by one of the big outsourcing companies after they see how much of a mess has been made.

 

The best solution would be for the government to sort it out for them and just give the system to them to use. (That would be outsourced too mind).

 

If it was done as a central government project it could link into the border control force (to get information on when and where a person came into the country) it could also link to the police should someone of interest walk into a hospital.

The American's already collect most of this information when you enter their country, they also get finger prints and a photo of you too from what I remember.

 

We have a land border with europe though, do we actually operate border controls between NI and Ireland? I thought there was free movement.

[I1L2T3]

The NHS say they spend nearly £500million treating foreign patients. We currently recoup approx £200 million, so its worthwhile addressing this. I also cant see how administering this would cost much more then the current administrative costs to hospitals.

 

The cost would be around having staff to carry out the ID procedures. Training them, having systems in place to record ID verifications, processes to cope with people who don't have ID, rolling out the system to thousands of locations where NHS care is delivered, hooking into existing NHS IT systems, having billing processes and debt recovery processes in place and integrated to the system, contact centres, etc... etc...

 

Anything that needs to be rolled out for use by perhaps a million workers will cost a lot.

 

Whatever they think they can save divide by 5 or 10 and then decide whether it makes sense

[dangerousedd]

apart from a&e, walk in and minor injuries you need referrals from the gp afaik. and to join a gp practice as a patient you need 2 pieces of id one being a photo id.

[Cyclone]

Even at A&E they already take details at reception as well, perhaps not if you come in by ambulance unconscious, but if you walk in, you need to give some details (of course you don't need to prove them, but that's a different story).

[phil752]

The cost would be around having staff to carry out the ID procedures. Training them, having systems in place to record ID verifications, processes to cope with people who don't have ID, rolling out the system to thousands of locations where NHS care is delivered, hooking into existing NHS IT systems, having billing processes and debt recovery processes in place and integrated to the system, contact centres, etc... etc...

 

Anything that needs to be rolled out for use by perhaps a million workers will cost a lot.

 

Whatever they think they can save divide by 5 or 10 and then decide whether it makes sense

 

Lets treat the world for free then, i think your suggesting we have a WHS not a NHS

[Cyclone]

Lets treat the world for free then, i think your suggesting we have a WHS not a NHS

 

If it costs more than it saves, then it's a stupid thing to do (I don't think it will though).

[geared]

 

We have a land border with europe though, do we actually operate border controls between NI and Ireland? I thought there was free movement.

 

No they went some time ago, and that will be back door in, although with the added hassle it would put some people off.

They might also stay for treatment in the ROI.

 

It'd then be down to the two respective governments to work together to implement the same scheme for anyone flying into Dublin.