Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

Drink Driving, Don't Risk It!

GPs told to drop visitors' fees

Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 18 July 2007
By LYNDSAY MOSS
A GP practice that refused to treat foreign visitors for free in protest over the treatment of its own patients abroad has been forced to back down, it emerged yesterday.
The Banchory Group Practice in Aberdeenshire spent 18 months charging EU visitors for treatment, advising them to reclaim the fees from their country when they got home.

Under reciprocal arrangements, EU travellers can receive the same level of t
reatment in the countries they visit as the residents of those countries. The nation in question then claims back the cost from the patient's country.

However, the Banchory GPs said that some of their patients were being charged up-front when overseas, even if they had a European Health Insurance Card.

After 18 months of charging overseas patients, the practice has now had to back down, after orders from the Department of Health in London.

Dr Derek Barclay said the GPs were still not happy and had voiced their concern to the SNP MEP Ian Hudghton, who was raising it with EU officials.

A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said: "We expect doctors and other health professionals in Scotland to provide treatment to visitors from other EEA countries carrying European Health Insurance Cards on the same basis as they would to residents."



Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 17 July 2007 10:02 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: General practitioners
 
1

The Fly Fifer,

Fife 18/07/2007 02:09:40

oh yes and how do you KNOW the documents are real, and London gave the order to stop charging??

2

Navvy,

18/07/2007 02:38:59

Yet another case of the UK abiding by the rules where other countries do not. Also our NHS is much more generous than most

Time for identity cards to identify those eligible

3

The Fly Fifer,

Fife 18/07/2007 04:45:05

# 2 absolutely .............. but there are to many PC on this site to get much agreement

4

Guga II,

Rockall 18/07/2007 05:37:57

What is it with you unionists that you want everyone to have ID cards? Is there something lacking in you that you feel the need to have control over everyone?

In any event, how would you know the ID cards would be real? Do you seriously think that they couldn't be forged too?

5

SouthernSkye,

18/07/2007 06:07:50

Whilst working overseas the local medical teams have done their best to make me feel at home on the, thankfully, few occasions I have needed them.

The have made me wait in dirty draughty waiting rooms, I have been left in bed in hallways , they have gone out of their way to concoct vile slop in place of the normal food and they have infected me with the occasional extra disease....all this just to make a Brit-Abroad feel at home.

It is a shame we cannot respond to our fellow EU citizens in a like minded fashion !!

6

Cadgers,

Perth 18/07/2007 06:48:01

#2 & #3 Do you honestly think carrying a VERY expensive bit of plastic is going to sort out all problems?

7

ex katman 2,

ex sudan 18/07/2007 07:47:08

I would love to think that everyone in Britain was legal,but as Guga says an ID card could be faked,i wish i could find a fake TV license though.

8

Statsman,

18/07/2007 09:49:45

How is a UK ID card going to help you decide whether a FOREIGN visitor to the UK is charged for NHS care?

9

Amsi_8,

Glasgow 18/07/2007 10:24:06

Why not charge visitors to our country when our own pensioners who worked since leaving school can no longer access simple care such as eye tests free of charge. Heaven forbid you have any cash available after paying household bills, as you will not be entitled to assistance if you are over their income threshold, in other words never take a company pension!

Having used medical services abroad I duly produced my E111 card (as advised) and still had to pay up front so where is the fairness in that, are we now recruiting health care tourists - come to the United Kingdom you will get treated very well while the UK citizens contract MRSA on our hospital wards after waiting 12 months or more for treatment. We are a laughing stock; there are just to many woolly liberals who need to get their head out the sand.

10

OLD GIN,

THE KINGDOM 18/07/2007 11:38:57

WELL DONE FOR TRYING TO MAKE A VALID POINT MORE SHOULD TRY DO THE SAME SO THE COUNTRY IS NOT RIPPED OFF.
WE KEEP TO THE RULES AND GET KICKED FOR DOING SO

11

The Fly Fifer,

fife 18/07/2007 17:58:35

10 but watch out that is racist .............. :-)

12

Keke,

Aberdeenshire 19/07/2007 11:00:49

It doesn't matter whether or not a visitor or whatever has an ID card. At the end of the day anyone taken to an A & E in some sort of trouble will be treated .... thats the people we are, we don't let people suffer when we can help. No nurse or doctor would walk away from a child bleeding to death, and if faced with such a situation the last question they would ask is 'are you entitled to treatment?" It's one of the most refreshing aspects of living in the UK, we go the extra mile to help hurt and injured people. Politics and prejudice have no place in a hospital.
I would agree that we need to tighten up drastically on people who would abuse our benevolence, but cards won't do it, and neither will allowing people to suffer and die because they don't happen to live in the next street.


 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.