Proof of ID may be needed for NHS care.

[Spoon]

Sounds like a good idea. A few small things to sort out.

Proof of ID may be needed for NHS care, says health chief - BBC News - http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38060432

 

[Andy78]

Small things like:

• Will people who have no ID get refused essential and possibly life saving treatment ?
• Will an eligible person receive no treatment until they can prove their ID ? Forgotten ID on day of treatment etc.
• What about portions of society that have no driving licence or passport. I imagine this lack of type of ID will be higher amongst the elderly, those who need treatment most.
• What are the legal implications of refusing treatment to needy people ?

I can see this being an excuse to introduce a non optional national ID register like the one that failed before.

A better system, rather than a blanket system, may be to require ID in suspected cases of health tourism where there are grounds for such suspicions. The whole idea of required ID would be to crack down on these cases to save the NHS money. Determined health tourists would just procure fake ID if it was needed. Who will be checking these ID, health staff or others ? Will we need to train our health staff to the level of immigration experts ?

 

[FatAlan]

Everyone already has NHS and NI numbers. The cost is in the policing of the system just like immigration. The rules are already there, the issue is simple, do we actually want to pay the cost involved to have them policed or administered properly?

 

[Spoon]

Small things like:

• Will people who have no ID get refused essential and possibly life saving treatment ?
• Will an eligible person receive no treatment until they can prove their ID ? Forgotten ID on day of treatment etc.
• What about portions of society that have no driving licence or passport. I imagine this lack of type of ID will be higher amongst the elderly, those who need treatment most.
• What are the legal implications of refusing treatment to needy people ?

Get people passports. Everyone has one then. People could start getting them now. Price of them will need looking at. IMO.
When you go for treatment you have to bring the letter that they send to you along. Bring you ID as well....

 

[Andy78]

Get people passports. Everyone has one then. People could start getting them now. Price of them will need looking at. IMO.
When you go for treatment you have to bring the letter that they send to you along. Bring you ID as well....

Exactly like I said, a non optional photo ID register. People have a choice currently whether they want a a passport or not. If they are to be mandatory then the government should foot the bill quite clearly.

 

[Spoon]

Maybe don't do passports but have a form like the passports. You fill it in, and it gets verified and send to a NHS database which is then attached to your records. (If you have one) Solves the issue of thickos forgetting them.

 

[Andy78]

Maybe don't do passports but have a form like the passports. You fill it in, and it gets verified and send to a NHS database which is then attached to your records. (If you have one) Solves the issue of thickos forgetting them.

So who gets treatment and who doesn't ? Do you have to be resident and naturalised to receive treatment ?

 

[Spoon]

So who gets treatment and who doesn't ? Do you have to be resident and naturalised to receive treatment ?

Who do you think should get treatment?

 

[Andy78]

Who do you think should get treatment?

Well a passport suggests that only UK nationals would qualify. What about those working here under a valid visa but not eligible for a passport ? What about overseas students ?
What about UK resident career doleys that have never contributed a penny to the NHS through taxation ?

 

[Octopus]

I would be happy to carry an ID card if necessary.

The UK's lack of ID cards is one reason people like it here and judging by what a Police Inspector friend of mine says there are plenty of people here with "multiple" ID's already....

 

[Spoon]

What about those working here under a valid visa but not eligible for a passport ? What about overseas students ?

Maybe they will have to pay.

 

[Andy78]

Maybe they will have to pay.

Even though they contribute to our society financially and otherwise, but a UK resident that contributes nothing would get a free pass ?

I'm sorry but I'm against this idea.

If it was the biggest problem that faced the NHS and the biggest financial drain I could maybe get behind it more, but even a couple of people in the article you linked to say that the debt caused by foreign health tourists is a drop in the ocean. To my mind that is not worth restricting and controlling people for.

 

[Spoon]

That is why I posted it. Everyone has a different opinion. It would be boring if we all thought the same.

 

[Octopus]

Not only should the NHS charge such people but also for missed appointments and abuse of A and E

 

[Midwest]

Does need something doing about it. I recall the story this year, of a woman from Africa, who had some sort of IVF treatment in her own country. Fell pregnant, came to visit a relative in this country. Went into labour here, had the babies with NHS help. Then went back to her own country after a few weeks of NHS care. The NHS sent her a bill for the cost of care & treatment, which she never paid, & NHS never pursued; African mum of quintuplets let off £145,000 NHS bill | Daily Mail Online - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3214709/African-mum-quintuplets-let-145-000-NHS-bill-Health-tourist-came-UK-birth-says-no-one-s-asked-pay.html