Top doctors slam NHS loophole that lets EU residents get FREE treatment when they arrive
Top doctors slam NHS loophole that lets EU residents get FREE treatment when they arrive
AN NHS loophole is allowing EU health tourists to access hospital care for free as soon as they enter the UK, doctors have claimed.
Health service guidelines, which once required would-be patients to have lived in the country for six months, are allegedly being abused by EU residents – with some claiming hundreds of thousands in medical aid.
Doctors revealed the shocking loophole after NHS rules changed to allow EU nationals who are “ordinarily resident” in the UK to access complex therapy and cancer treatments – which can allegedly be done by quoting a friend or relative’s address.
Meanwhile official NHS documents state that “It is perfectly possible to be ordinarily resident here from the day of arrival.”-reports the Daily Express
One London cancer consultant, speaking under condition of anonymity, said: “‘The issue of health tourism, where patients come for urgent but not emergency treatment, is increasing.
“My team alone treats at least one patient a week in this category and if you multiply that across the whole NHS, that’s an awful lot of people.”
“Cancer treatment has to start in days or weeks of a diagnosis and, once it has started, you can’t stop.
“It is very expensive – major surgery can cost £20,000 and drugs can run into the thousands.”
The claim from doctors that the flawed system offers immediate access to NHS services for 500 million Europeans comes as the Government continues to makes moves to crack down on health tourism.
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