MP: Health tourists head straight from airport to A&E

 
Passengers at Heathrow
Sophie Goodchild13 May 2013

Health “tourists” who head straight from Heathrow to hospitals in the capital are adding to pressure on A&Es, according to a London MP.

Kate Hoey said some overseas visitors arrive knowing “perfectly well” they have a medical problem and go directly from the airport to hospitals providing emergency care, such as St Thomas’.

Ms Hoey, the Labour MP for Vauxhall and a former minister, raised the issue in a Commons debate on immigrants and NHS access as the Government was forced to intervene to support A&Es that are being pushed to the limit.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced last week that urgent care boards would be set up in response to concerns over waiting times.

Figures reveal that less than one in six London NHS trusts is meeting waiting-time targets. Doctors should see 95 per cent of patients within four hours but only a handful of trusts including Chelsea and Westminster and King’s have achieved this since April.

South London Healthcare, North West London Hospitals NHS trust, and Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS trust are among those who missed the target by the greatest margin.

Ms Hoey said: “There’s no doubt that people come in [to Heathrow] specifically with something wrong with them and go more or less straight to the hospital to seek treatment. No one seems to ask them are they citizens with a right to treatment. This adds to existing pressures on A&Es.

“Also many people in London use A&E when they can’t get an appointment to see their doctor and the changes to the doctors’ contracts hasn’t helped. There should be more GPs in A&Es to see the person who only needs slight attention.”

The Royal College of Nursing blamed the A&E crisis on staffing levels. London regional director Bernell Bussue said: “The RCN’s Frontline First research shows that nursing posts are continuing to be cut even as pressure on services increases.”

Guys and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust said it has a dedicated team supporting frontline staff to identify and charge patients who may not be entitled to NHS care. However, it added: “Department of health rules and medical ethics mean we must treat overseas visitors when emergency or urgent care is required at our hospitals.”

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