Medical experts have faulted the
move by British government in the health sector, after it was revealed that the
Health Minister is seriously looking forward to recover about £500m per annum.
According to source, the proposed
rule will be implemented from April this year, as all hospitals in the country
have been directed to ascertain if patients are qualified for the free medical
services being offered by the NHS prior to their treatment.
To further stress their
seriousness, all patients excluded from the free medical services will be made
to make an advance payment, because records have it that most patients either
failed or refuses to pay after being treated.
A brief breakdown of some the
services being rendered states that it costs average of £910 cataract surgery,
hip replacement operations £6,268 and knee replacement surgery about £5,997,
according to Department of Health figures.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
said: "We have no problem with overseas visitors using our NHS as long as
they make a fair contribution, just as the British taxpayer does.
"So today we are announcing
plans to change the law which means those who aren't eligible for free care
will be asked to pay upfront for non-urgent treatment.
"We aim to recover up to
£500m a year by the middle of this Parliament - money that can then be
reinvested in patient care."
Similarly, Dr Meirion Thomas also
gave a nod to the proposals saying he believed the NHS was being exploited by
so-called 'health tourists'.
He made it known while speaking
with Sky News: "It is essential that people are forced to present their
passports, and not just their passports but their utility bills too.
"The total cost of health
tourism is £2bn a year. We just cannot afford this any longer. The healthcare
system is in crisis. I have been saying this for a long time. This is long
overdue."
On the other hand some of Dr
Thomas' medical colleagues disagree. saying the NHS is already in crisis and
rushing through these new regulations will place further strain on the system.
On their part, the British
Medical Association said: "There is no detail as to how upfront charging
will be introduced from scratch in just three months in an NHS already unable
to cope with normal operations.
"We need to be careful not
to demonise overseas patients or sow chaos and confusion within the NHS."
Some charities are worried
vulnerable groups like asylum seekers will be driven away from seeking medical
care in hospitals.
Adding her voice to express her
displeasure to the proposal, Shyamantha Asokan, from Doctors Of The World,
fears the new rules will penalise those most in need of care.
She stated that:
"Immigration and health care are two completely separate things. As soon
as someone is in this country and are ill they have the right to go to the
hospital or go to the doctor.
"We run clinics in the UK
that see people who are really vulnerable: asylum seekers, homeless people,
victims of human trafficking who are already too scared to go to a
hospital."
"So putting up more barriers
is just going to make that worse. Not only is it inhumane but if people leave
their problems until it is an emergency and they go to A&E that's actually
more expensive for the NHS."
However, in a swift reaction, the
Government has dismissed these fears, promising: "The NHS will not deny
urgent and immediately necessary healthcare to those in need, regardless of
payment.
"Exemptions from charging
will also remain in place for the diagnosis and treatment of specified
infectious diseases in order to protect the public. We have clear exemptions in
place for vulnerable groups such as refugees and asylum seekers."
Meanwhile, one in six accident
and emergency departments in England could be shut or downgraded in the coming
years, according to a new analysis.
There are 24 A&Es on a list
drawn up by researchers at the Health Service Journal (HSJ).
The report comes weeks after
warnings that the health service was in the grip of a "humanitarian
crisis", with some emergency departments facing such high demand they had
to turn patients away.
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