200 £million NHS black hole foreign health tourists

£200 million pales into insignificance with the £37 billion the NHS has paid out in compensation and legal costs in maternity cases since 2019. How many black holes are there in the NHS? (Guardian report today).

escaped

It doesn't help when UK NHS hospitals' wording is so woolly.

When you arrive at * Hospital, you may be asked to complete a form and provide us with documents to prove that you are ordinarily resident in the UK.
...... if we can be bothered!

That doesn't say "can't be bothered" to me. I says circumstances may vary. After all it's quite likely they already have information on you.

ronib

£200 million pales into insignificance with the £37 billion the NHS has paid out in compensation and legal costs in maternity cases since 2019. How many black holes are there in the NHS? (Guardian report today).

Quite right of the Guardian to report it.

I wonder if work is already being done though. It does seem to be this government's way to get on with things and then report. Old fashioned, perhaps but it does take some power out of the shock press who often seem to think they run the country! The press is important, just not quite in the way some think they are.

The Badenoch case was passport tourism in my opinion.

ronib

£200 million pales into insignificance with the £37 billion the NHS has paid out in compensation and legal costs in maternity cases since 2019. How many black holes are there in the NHS? (Guardian report today).

That’s shocking. If maternity staff and doctors did their jobs properly in the first place parents would not have to claim these vast sums of compensation for losing babies or delivering very disabled babies. These huge sums cover the future life of a damaged baby and all the care needed.

Primrose53

ronib

£200 million pales into insignificance with the £37 billion the NHS has paid out in compensation and legal costs in maternity cases since 2019. How many black holes are there in the NHS? (Guardian report today).

That’s shocking. If maternity staff and doctors did their jobs properly in the first place parents would not have to claim these vast sums of compensation for losing babies or delivering very disabled babies. These huge sums cover the future life of a damaged baby and all the care needed.

Surely the real question is, why weren't the staff and doctors doing their jobs properly?

Was it lack of training, lack of funds to staff units properly, incompetence, poor management...? The causes could be many and vary from incident to incident.

It’s all of the above MaizieD and a reluctance to perform C sections until it’s a real emergency. Also poor communication is mentioned by AI.

Do you have any evidence as to it being 'all of the above'?

Reports? Results of inquiries?

£37 billion looks like an awful lot of failings, I'd have thought there would be some conclusions as to the causes available somewhere.

Ockenden report?

ID is very good thing but my fear of having all this information on one card & having to carry it round & loosing it.
My mum is always loosing her bus pass, so if it’s a card like that, could all that be cloned.
Can I’d information not just go on a mobile? Be much simpler & free perhaps!

Mt61

ID is very good thing but my fear of having all this information on one card & having to carry it round & loosing it.
My mum is always loosing her bus pass, so if it’s a card like that, could all that be cloned.
Can I’d information not just go on a mobile? Be much simpler & free perhaps!

ID I mean 🙄

Mt61

ID is very good thing but my fear of having all this information on one card & having to carry it round & loosing it.
My mum is always loosing her bus pass, so if it’s a card like that, could all that be cloned.
Can I’d information not just go on a mobile? Be much simpler & free perhaps!

Can you buy her one of these, Mt61?
They are very handy.

"Aluminium Credit Card Holder Wallet CASE Purse Metal Business Card Protector UK"

Available from Amazon and various other outlets.

MaizieD

What an unpleasant thread.

It needs addressing. On holiday in Egypt I had travel diarrhoea and ended up in hospital there. The hospital refused to take the needle for the drip out of my hand until our insurance company had paid up.

Oh thanks for the link Allira. I shall look into those- do they stop cards being skimmed or whatever they call it?

Mind you my mum could loose that. Is there a space for Apple air tag? Just bought one to go on her keys. Mind you I am going the same way loosing stuff 😩 Its a worry.

Mt61

Oh thanks for the link Allira. I shall look into those- do they stop cards being skimmed or whatever they call it?

I think so. My SisIL gave me one and said it did, I always use it.

Mind you my mum could loose that
🤔 has she got a zipped compartment in her handbag?

Allira

^Mind you my mum could loose that^
🤔 has she got a zipped compartment in her handbag?

She might lose the handbag😲

Oh dear!!

Perhaps don't put all your cards in one basket wallet

Part of the problem is that the NHS seems totally clueless in how to deal with people from abroad and many clinics don't even know how to deal with the paperwork.

In Sweden you either recite your registration number to demonstrate your entitlement to treatment, show them your european health card or pay the much bigger than normal fee.

But in the UK they just look at you like deer caught in the headlights. Experienced it when dd was injured on holiday in the UK - an animal bite that became infected. We waited 90 mins at the minor injury unit before being told that her injury was too complicated for them. Then we were directed to a GP practice and got out all of our stuff (passport/european health card) and nobody wanted to see it.

Cold

Part of the problem is that the NHS seems totally clueless in how to deal with people from abroad and many clinics don't even know how to deal with the paperwork.

In Sweden you either recite your registration number to demonstrate your entitlement to treatment, show them your european health card or pay the much bigger than normal fee.

But in the UK they just look at you like deer caught in the headlights. Experienced it when dd was injured on holiday in the UK - an animal bite that became infected. We waited 90 mins at the minor injury unit before being told that her injury was too complicated for them. Then we were directed to a GP practice and got out all of our stuff (passport/european health card) and nobody wanted to see it.

You’ve hit the nail on the head there! They just can’t be bothered.

The money that’s wasted in the NHS is shocking. Just as an example - a neighbour of ours has been in hospital since February. His son (late 20s) lives with him and told me back at end of April that he was ready to come home. The son said he had to get a room ready downstairs for him.

The hospital wanted him to go to a care home while this was being done but he refused. The son has still not got the room ready so he has been in hospital unnecessarily for 5 months!

I dread to think what those months in hospital have cost and there will be people all over the country in the same position.

There was a woman in my late Mum’s care home who was in there while the council did some work on her home. She told me she was in no hurry to go home as she was using no electricity or water, no food bills and was waited on hand and foot. She also spent many months in there for free whilst my Mum was paying nearly £1000 a week.

So what would you propose the NHS do in the event of a patient stuck in hospital because the next of kin have not adapted a room in their home for them Primrose53, when presumably the patient wants to go home. Who would pay for a care home, would he go against his will, or would you send him home without the adaptations? Would that it were as black and white as you portray.

Oh Oreo, it has been known 🙄😂

Allira

Oh dear!!

Perhaps don't put all your cards in one basket wallet

Ha Allira, heaven forbid!

Allira, I ended up getting a chain & attached that to ring on the zipper part of the pocket in her bag. Things you have to do to keep your personal stuff safe. I also put bells on the purse, because she’s had her bag dipped in town, twice.