Anyone Think We Are Likely To Get Any Of This Back?

[youngmafbog]

It's such a huge sum I personally cant see the bill being settled.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5244525/Health-tourist-racks-Britains-biggest-unpaid-NHS-bill.html

[ToraToraTora]

perhaps the EU will help out?

[emmie]

seems pretty unlikely, however 2 billion owed surely we are doing something wrong in letting those use the NHS as a free for all..

[cassa333]

But you can't stop, halt or refuse treatment when someone comes a knocking at your door.

Therefore it isn't lost money. It was never owed in the first place.

Having said that. I would be happy to adopt the US policy of no treatment (except emergency) until you provide valid insurance to cover the costs.

Didn't the Drs say they would not ask for proof of a right to treatment though.

Start making the hospitals etc responsible for recovery of costs otherwise it gets taken off their budget. They will soon make a bit of an effort.

[EDDIE51]

'Health tourists' know exactly how to get free treatment. The trick is to arrive in the UK with a medical condition that is so advanced and serious that they have to be given emergency treatment which is always free under international law. Once in hospital they can not be discharged while they still have medical problems. The hospital can not demand payment or hold on to them until the bill is paid, they have to let them go once the treatment is complete even if they have not paid. Health Tourism is a particular problem for visitors from some specific countries, Nigeria is the worst. The Nigerian government is so corrupt it will issue a 'fit to fly' certificate in return for a bribe. It is so bad that direct flights from Nigeria are known as 'The Lagos Shuttle' by staff at Guys and St Thomas London hospitals. They even put on extra staff when a direct flight from Lagos is due into Heathrow.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10540893/The-far-from-modest-problem-of-health-tourists-costing-us-millions.html

[cassa333]

Perhaps the airline or ship owners that brings them over on should pay the bills. That might make them check twice before ferrying the heavily pregnant and barely walking from trolling up the A&E.

[youngmafbog]

Perhaps the answer is to ban direct flights from these countries or have Health screening on arrival and sling them straight back on the next plane.

Or take it out of the aid package, that might waken the authorities when they cant buy another Bentley.

[mikey4444]

Why don't you ask Hunt ?

[EDDIE51]

^^ Impossible under international law.
We can't ban flights from any country , international air transport regulations see to that. We can't refuse emergency medical treatment either, and the 'health tourists' make sure that their condition is so advanced / serious that they have to be taken direct to A&E .
As said the Nigerian government are to blame. They issue a 'fit to fly' certificate to anyone who can pay the cost of the bribe. Women are normally actually in labour by the time the Nigeria Airways 'Lagos Shuttle' lands at Heathrow. Nigeria Airways flights from Lagos routinely have ambulances waiting on the tarmac ready to transport patients direct to St Thomas or Guy's Hospital. As a medical emergency they don't even have to go through customs or immigration.

[EDDIE51]

Mikey , that was to Youngmafbog you got in while I was typing.

[naomi24]

Eddie, //Nigeria Airways flights from Lagos routinely have ambulances waiting on the tarmac ready to transport patients direct to St Thomas or Guy's Hospital. //

Where did that information come from?

[Islay]

//They even put on extra staff when a direct flight from Lagos is due into Heathrow.//
Where did this information come from please?

[youngmafbog]

So back to plan B then.

We currently give 50m of aid to Nigeria, though Gawd knows why a penny, why dont we just deduct the amount owed to us? It wont affect the people we are aiming it at since it is very doubtful in that corrupt regime a cent gets there anyway.

[EDDIE51]

naomi, read the link I posted at 14.40 yesterday. Virtually every Nigeria Airways direct Lagos > Heathrow flight calls in a medical emergency and asks for an ambulance / ambulances to meet them on arrival. A close friend and next door neighbour of mine was a ground traffic controller at Heathrow / Gatwick and he used to tell me about how many times he had to arrange for an ambulance to come onto the flight arrival area to meet the 'Lagos Shuttle' . The medical emergency patient / patients were taken off the aircraft first and the ambulance sent direct to the appropriate hospital.
Also he often heard from the ambulance drivers that a patient had recieved emergency treatment in hospital and then 'done a runner'. He said it was a known way to get into the UK without a visa. They just get up and walk out of the hospital, there will be friends / relatives waiting to take them away and hide them in the local community .

[naomi24]

Eddie, that's a bit different to the implication in your previous post. We all know that if there's a medical emergency on a flight from anywhere help will be waiting on the ground.

[EDDIE51]

youngmafbog . You are not wrong about corruption in Nigeria
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/nigeria-oil-corruption-buhari/473850/

[Islay]

I worked out of heathrow for 4 years and I can count on one hand the number of times a medical emergency was called for Nigerian flights. They were targeted for other reasons hence why they were on our radar!

[EDDIE51]

naomi, you asked how I got the information and I posted an answer.
The friend who worked at Heathrow was also best man at my wedding.

[naomi24]

You're never one to embellish or exaggerate, Eddie. ;o)