Dear Department of Health,

I would like to make a freedom of information request regarding the
treatment of foreign nationals in NHS hospitals, the costs
involved, and money recovered.

1a. How many non-UK citizens received treatment in NHS hospitals in
England &Wales in each of the years 2004-08?

1b. How many non-EU citizens received treatment in NHS hospitals in
England & Wales in each of the the years 2004-08?

2. For each of the above figures, is there a cost (either estimated
or actual) of the treatment given?

3a. For each of the years period 2004-08, how much money was
recovered by the NHS for treatment to foreign nationals who were
not entitled to free NHS care? Please include receipts from
insurance schemes and companies paying on other people's behalf.

3b. In regards to the above figure (3a), to how many patients does
this refer? To put another way, for foreign patients who do pay for
their treatment in NHS hospitals, what is the average payment.

4. Regardless of what figures exist, what metrics and assumptions
do NHS and Treasury officials make, in order to estimate the
financial burden of foreign nationals being treated on the NHS? I
would appreciate a short summary and any rules of thumb commonly
employed.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Sharp

Thank you for your email.

Where a reply is appropriate we aim to send one within 20 working days.

If your enquiry is about a medical matter, please contact NHS Direct on
0845 4647 or visit [1]NHS Choices, or contact your GP surgery.

For the latest on swine flu, please visit [2]the National Pandemic Flu
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For general health information you may also find it helpful to refer to
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Department of Health website's [4]Frequently Asked Questions.

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Dear Department of Health,

I would like to further clarify and refine my request. I am
specifically interested in the free healthcare given in NHS
hospitals to those not specifically entitled to it e.g. tourists on
short-term visas, and the so-called 'Health Tourists' who visit the
UK specifically for treatment. My further research has indicated
that 'foreign nationals' or non-EU citizens is too broad a
definition.

In the first instance, I would like to limit my request to
statistics on people receiving hospital treatment (excluding A&E)
who are not registered with a GP i.e. those circumventing proper
admission procedures. In the first instance, I would like to ask:
Are statistics for such admissions held by the DoH or individual
trusts? If so, are statistics for nationality and entitlement
routinely collected?

Many thanks,

Yours faithfully,

Robert Sharp

Thank you for your email.

Where a reply is appropriate we aim to send one within 20 working days.

If your enquiry is about a medical matter, please contact NHS Direct on
0845 4647 or visit [1]NHS Choices, or contact your GP surgery.

For the latest on swine flu, please visit [2]the National Pandemic Flu
Service (NPFS) or call 0800 1 513 100.

For general health information you may also find it helpful to refer to
[3]Directgov, the UK Government's Official information website, or the
Department of Health website's [4]Frequently Asked Questions.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.nhs.uk/
2. http://www.direct.gov.uk/pandemicflu/
3. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm
4. http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/FAQ/index.htm

To: [1][FOI #28053 email]

Our ref: DE00000476733

12 February 2010

Dear Mr Sharp,

Thank you for your email of 29 January to the Department of Health
requesting, under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, details about the
number of foreign nationals treated in NHS hospitals. Your request has
been passed to me for reply.

I will address your points in the order that you raise them:

1a. How many non-UK citizens received treatment in NHS hospitals in
England and Wales in each of the years 2004-08?
1b. How many non-EU citizens received treatment in NHS hospitals in
England and Wales in each of the years 2004-08?
2. For each of the above figures, is there a cost (either estimated or
actual) of the treatment given?

I can confirm that the Department does not hold information relevant to
your request. The Department does not compile figures on the number of
non-UK/non-EU citizens treated by the NHS, nor costs involved.
Entitlement to free hospital treatment is not based on nationality, so
many non-UK/non-EU citizens are entitled to free treatment and some UK
citizens are not. (For Example, if they live overseas).

3a. For each of the years period 2004-08, how much money was recovered by
the NHS for treatment to foreign nationals who were not entitled to free
NHS care? Please include receipts from insurance schemes and companies
paying on other peoples behalf.

I can confirm that the Department does hold information relevant to your
request. Income received by the NHS from chargeable patients (those not
entitled to free NHS healthcare) is shown in the table below. Please note
that these figures do not include Foundation Trusts.

3b. In regards to the above figure, to how many patients does this refer?

I can confirm that the Department does not hold information relevant to
your request. The Department does not hold any records for those patients
who received free healthcare but were not entitled to it.

If you have any queries about this response, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

I hope this reply is helpful. If you are dissatisfied with the handling
of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review.
Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date
of receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed
to:

Head of the Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health
Room 317
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NS

Email: [2][email address]

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for a decision.
Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the
complaints procedure provided by the Department. The ICO can be contacted
at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Rebecca-Jane Turner
Freedom of Information Officer
Department of Health

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