That Was So Cheap, Thank You So Much, The British Tax Payer.

[anotheoldgit]

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

I wonder if they gave her a free supply of 'the pill' as well?

Now that would have been money well spent.

[Sqad]

retro..LOL....I understand...;-)

ummmm......the emphasis abroad ( Well Menorca) seem to be on the hospital service which is well funded rather than the GP who plays a more subsidiary (filtering) role than the GP's in the UK.

[Peter Pedant]

and just think AOG !

if it were the Land of the Free ( USA that is !) they would all be US citizens !

[Peter Pedant]

Sqad they dont have midwives in Thpain do they ?

er not that I would recommend a home delivery for quintuplets .....
(would be cheap tho )

[Sqad]

PP......I have no idea, but i will find out for you.

[Sqad]

PP......just phoned my informant.

You are quite correct, almost ALL deliveries are done in hospital, only the occasional one at home.

[jourdain2]

In France, when you go to the doctor or visit any health professional or hospital the first thing they ask you for is your' Carte Vitale' (green card proof of basic health insurance). Next is if you have any 'Complementaire' (top-up private insurance). I assure you it really is the first thing checked. In case of a sudden emergency (step-son had a heart-attack day after arriving - doctor then air ambulance to Poitiers) they still checked his health insurance after the process of admitting him -it was day 2, when he was stabilised. I suppose that an unconscious person would have relatives questioned or be asked as soon as s/he came round. For the destitute, treatment is instigated and then the administrators go wild getting the person onto an emergency system via 'Amelie' (state entry port).

Why aren't British hospitals doing the same sort of checks as standard?

[Sqad]

Also in Spain before receiving any medical treatment one has to produce one's health card...Tarjeta Sanitaria Individual.

I really can't see the problem in the UK/

[Mosaic]

Put it another way......
If a society has the means to cure illness or deal with medical needs, is it ethical to regard such care as a commodity?
Rather than damning the NHS, we ought to encourage other countries to adopt the same system.
The only possible reason for mothers coming to UK to deliver is that their available health care is too expensive and dodgy.

[Sqad]

Mosaic

\\\If a society has the means to cure illness or deal with medical needs, is it ethical to regard such care as a commodity? \\\

It is not a method of ethics, it is a matter of pragmatism, medical care has a cost to the provider and hence money must come from somewhere. The UK cannot afford the healthcare it provides for the indigenous population.

\\\\Rather than damning the NHS, we ought to encourage other countries to adopt the same system\\\

Yes, a good idea, but so far, no other country has followed the same route as the NHS, probably because they realise that it is unaffordable.

\\\\The only possible reason for mothers coming to UK to deliver is that their available health care is too expensive and dodgy.\\\

There you go again using terms like "dodgy".......the UK is about 8th in the league table of infant mortality in the world.....that is what i would call dodgy. Too expensive means that if you go to the UK you can get it FREE.

[andy-hughes]

This woman has admitted using the 'health tourist' system.

That is immoral, but entirely understandable – what mother would not take advantage of top free medical care if she could get it?

The fault here lies entirely with the government and the NHS whose inability to prevent health tourism allows it to flourish.
The report advises that the lady in question has confirmed that she would have paid a bill, had she received one, and the hospital advise they have invoiced her just once – apparently inaccurately.

So yes, this is disgraceful, but that is the fault of our government and NHS system and their inefficiencies.

I wonder AOG, since, as usual, it is you who brings this sort of issue to our attention, if your personal ire is really with the cost involved, or the ethnicity of the individual involved?
I think we should be told.

[anotheoldgit]

retrocop

/// Had a Russian woman in the bed next to me this
week ///

That is both interesting and somewhat alarming.

I had no idea that we still had mixed wards in our hospitals, I am more surprised that we still have dormitory style wards, seeing that thankfully the only experience I have of hospitals is from the TV, where all the patients seem to have private rooms.

At the risk of being labelled Islamophobic, I wonder if they put Muslim women in mixed wards?

[Mamyalynne]

There aren't many organisations that would send just one invoice then shrug their shoulders if no payment forthcoming.

[retrocop]

AOG
There are two wards in the Coronary care unit where I was admitted. One Male which was full so I had to take the last available bed in the Female ward.It was a matter of expediency at the time. I wasn't too worried at the time as long as my condition was stabilised. At least I could sleep with a clear conscience as I had paid all my N.I. contributions.. :-)