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Post by dyertribe on Nov 23, 2016 21:47:11 GMT
If someone presents themselves at a hospital for non-emergency treatment they should be refused unless they have a referral from a GP or NH centre. Simples. to call sorting out people who should pay from those who should not racist is pure twaddle
Nowhere did I say that sorting out people who should pay from those who should not, is racist. Why do folk invent this stuff to put in other peoples mouths. It's my pet hate on both this and the "other forum". I'm never sure if it is out of mischief or stupidity or laziness (can't be bothered to read other's posts properly). Anyway with that rant out of my system...
Nowhere did I say that sorting out people who should pay from those who should not, is racist. Of course it isn't. What I said is that deciding whether to check people's eligibility or not just by looking/speaking them to see if they are johnny foreigner or not, is racist. If you want to have a system to determine whether or not someone is eligible for free treatment, that system has to apply to everyone. And then the burden may be more costly than the rewards.
Anyway, as you say you can't just walk into a hospital and demand non-emergency treatment, so what is this all about?
I asked Jeff how often in his 20 years as a Haematology Nurse Specialist he has had a "health tourist" wanting treatment for leukaemia / haemophilia / lymphoma etc. His answer is virtually never, he can think of just one person in 20 years. And that caused mayhem since, even though the chap had health insurance, there was no bureaucratic mechanism in the hospital to claim the money back. Having wasted lots of people's time pondering it, in the end they just treated him for free.
Well Jeff's experience is different from the Haemophilia Specialist Nurses I mentioned in an earlier post. The cases I mentioned were told to me without any prompting for me, the conversation was regarding the allocation of budgets.
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Post by tomsk on Nov 23, 2016 22:11:44 GMT
By way of a little light relief....
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Post by Telemachus on Nov 23, 2016 22:15:35 GMT
Nowhere did I say that sorting out people who should pay from those who should not, is racist. Why do folk invent this stuff to put in other peoples mouths. It's my pet hate on both this and the "other forum". I'm never sure if it is out of mischief or stupidity or laziness (can't be bothered to read other's posts properly). Anyway with that rant out of my system...
Nowhere did I say that sorting out people who should pay from those who should not, is racist. Of course it isn't. What I said is that deciding whether to check people's eligibility or not just by looking/speaking them to see if they are johnny foreigner or not, is racist. If you want to have a system to determine whether or not someone is eligible for free treatment, that system has to apply to everyone. And then the burden may be more costly than the rewards.
Anyway, as you say you can't just walk into a hospital and demand non-emergency treatment, so what is this all about?
I asked Jeff how often in his 20 years as a Haematology Nurse Specialist he has had a "health tourist" wanting treatment for leukaemia / haemophilia / lymphoma etc. His answer is virtually never, he can think of just one person in 20 years. And that caused mayhem since, even though the chap had health insurance, there was no bureaucratic mechanism in the hospital to claim the money back. Having wasted lots of people's time pondering it, in the end they just treated him for free.
Well Jeff's experience is different from the Haemophilia Specialist Nurses I mentioned in an earlier post. The cases I mentioned were told to me without any prompting for me, the conversation was regarding the allocation of budgets. Perhaps it is a regional issue? I suppose, if you are a health tourist, you are more likely to try to get treatment somewhere in the SE of England rather than the NE of Scotland.
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Post by dyertribe on Nov 23, 2016 22:19:50 GMT
Very possibly, the conversation took place in England in a cosmopolitan city. I'm not prepared to identify the place as there are few children's hospitals in the UK
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Post by tomsk on Nov 23, 2016 23:18:26 GMT
Amen to that x
The Womble
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Post by patty on Nov 24, 2016 5:22:20 GMT
Meanwhile some of us wait for our non essential appointments...in my case a year to get a hospital appointment....its on my Christmas wish list..
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Post by naughtyfox on Nov 24, 2016 8:05:49 GMT
"Let's say that someone from far afield is here in holiday. They get ill. They claim to have travel insurance so presumably they get treated? But then someone has to go through the rigmarole of getting the money back from some insurance company on the other side of the world."
It really is simple. You charge the insurance company for the 'rigmarole'. There's no reason why the insurance company cannot be putting money into the NHS bank account at the same time the patient is being treated - it's all just a phone call and internet-link away these days.
If a foreigner on holiday becomes suddenly ill in the UK, and not through their own fault, then I'd say that free treatment up to a limit of, say, 500 Pounds would be good. Remember, the greater portion of this goes as doctors' & nurses' wages so it gets ploughed back into Britain's economy. Foreigners who have ski-ing and skateboard accidents in the UK can just fuck off back home with a broken leg. Or go to a Private Clinic of their choice.
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Post by naughtyfox on Nov 24, 2016 8:31:11 GMT
Being British born and contributing to the system for half my life, I am apparently not eligible for NHS treatment having been non resident for over five years! Why not? Surely you still have your National Insurance number? Having lived in Finland for 26 years I would still expect to get NHS treatment in the UK if I were ill on holiday. It would seem a bit odd suddenly turning up and asking for some kind of operation as I don't actually live in the UK and don't pay NI contributions nowadays. But being in the EU and paying towards the Finnish health service where Brits get (almost)free treatment, I would expect to get the same in the UK. Yes, the USA is outside the EU. Perhaps you could demand your payments back if you haven't used them?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2016 8:33:17 GMT
Foreigners who have ski-ing and skateboard accidents in the UK can just fuck off back home with a broken leg. Would UK residents who injure themselves whilst overseas be happy to accept the same?
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Post by naughtyfox on Nov 24, 2016 8:37:20 GMT
Another one for the Hunt's Stool:
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Post by naughtyfox on Nov 24, 2016 8:38:54 GMT
Foreigners who have ski-ing and skateboard accidents in the UK can just fuck off back home with a broken leg. Would UK residents who injure themselves whilst overseas be happy to accept the same? They should be! Skateboarders and ski-ers know the risks. Let them take out hugely expensive private insurance. I wouldn't insure them. That goes for horse riders too.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2016 8:48:30 GMT
Would UK residents who injure themselves whilst overseas be happy to accept the same? They should be! Skateboarders and ski-ers know the risks. Let them take out hugely expensive private insurance. I wouldn't insure them. That goes for horse riders too. Wouldn't all UK travellers would have to have "hugely expensive private insurance" ?
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Post by JohnV on Nov 24, 2016 9:02:24 GMT
They should be! Skateboarders and ski-ers know the risks. Let them take out hugely expensive private insurance. I wouldn't insure them. That goes for horse riders too. Wouldn't all UK travellers would have to have "hugely expensive private insurance" ? Whenever I have travelled abroad I have always had health insurance (including trips to Europe). Many health services abroad do not cover all the costs and none cover problems you might have travelling home when normal travel is not possible. Sometimes it might be necessary to stay abroad but not in hospital until travel home can be arranged. None of these will be supplied by anyone else. If you can't afford it then you are deep in the doodoo To travel abroad without the proper insurance is mind bogglingly stupid
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Post by phil70 on Nov 24, 2016 9:04:37 GMT
Just saying, travel insurance is very often available via your bank, we have always opted for this insurance sort of as a belt and braces approach to caring for ourselves when abroad, coupled with the feely available EU health card all contingencies are catered for , you wouldn't drive without insurance so why would you travel without it. Phil
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Post by sbg on Nov 24, 2016 9:35:14 GMT
Would UK residents who injure themselves whilst overseas be happy to accept the same? They should be! Skateboarders and ski-ers know the risks. Let them take out hugely expensive private insurance. I wouldn't insure them. That goes for horse riders too. In early 2015 I went to Austria to compete in a Seniors (over 45, before you ask!) bobsleigh event. I made sure I had good provision of insurance which included the obtaining an NHS European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which has replaced the old E111 for basic and emergency care, plus travel insurance which specifically included bobsleigh and non-professional competition. The insurance cost me £65 for a week's cover, which as it turns out, was a good investment. My driver made a mistake on the final corner of the third run and we impacted the side wall at 75mph forward speed with a high lateral G, breaking the top of my femur. I was blue-lighted off the mountain (doctor, two ambulances) and whisked into Innsbruck University Hospital, x-rays followed and the break confirmed. The doctor brought me to just enough to tell me what was happening and to check what sort of insurance I had. If I had been a standard NHS patient (EHIC only) I'd have had to have an external frame. As it was, the insurance covered the cost of an internal "nail" down the centre of the bone. I was in hospital for 9 days and finally went home escorted by a nurse, door-to-door service with business class seats on the flight for the additional leg room - most of which was covered by the private insurance. The basic level of care was covered by the NHS EHIC arrangements but I think its entirely fair to pay for additional cover if you're doing something slightly daft (like sliding down a mountain on a steel and fibreglass sled....) Like I said, best £65 I ever spent...
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