FOI Request: NHS Charging of Overseas Visitors
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, relating to the trusts implementation of the ‘NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, as amended by the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020’, hereafter referred to as ‘the charging policy’.
The following requests relate to the expenditure and income generated from the 'charging policy', excluding any generated through private paying patients or monies claimed back from countries as part of any reciprocal healthcare arrangement.
>>> [QUESTION 1] <<<
As per the trusts application of the 'charging policy' for each financial year from 2015-2023 please provide (i) the total number of and (ii) the total value of:
(1a)
Invoices generated
(1b)
Payments received
(1c)
Credit notes issued after a patient has been invoiced for care and later found to be eligible for free treatment
(1d)
Invoices written off for accounting purposes due to a patient being considered destitute as per the conditions set out in 13.72 and 13.73 of the charging policy.
(1e)
Debts passed onto debt collection agencies for recovery due to non-payment.
For each of the above requests from 1a to 1e inclusive, please provide a breakdown by speciality, department, or similar categorisation (see appendix 1 for example formatting).
>>> [QUESTION 2] <<<
Please provide a breakdown by speciality, department, or similar categorisation of (i) the number of patients currently on a repayment plan with the trust for debt incurred under the charging policy and (ii) a breakdown by value of repayment - For example, the number of patients paying £1/month, £5/month, £10/month, etc. (see appendix 1 for example formatting).
(2a)
Please also provide the number of patients who entered a new payment plan with the trust, for each financial year from 2015-2023.
>>> [QUESTION 3] <<<
Please share any formal or informal criteria, policies, procedures, or similar the trust currently uses or has used from 2015 - 2023 to determine how:
(a) A patient's debt is managed
(b)The trust agrees upon the value of a patient's monthly repayment plan.
>>> [QUESTION 4] <<<
For each financial year from 2015-2023, please provide the total number of patients whose information has been shared with the Home Office in relation to a debt:
(a) Greater than £500 owed for more than 2 months
(b) Greater than £500 owed for less than 2 months
(c) Less than £500
For ease of work, I have attached an example formatting aid to assist data tabulation in the following link, which may be of use to your team.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...
If my request is denied in whole or in part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions within the Act. I thank you in advance for your time and assistance and I look forward to hearing from you within the statutory 20 working days.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. V Saini
APPENDIX 1:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...
Thank you for contacting the Norfolk Community Health and Care Trust
Freedom of Information mailbox.
Queries are processed 09:00 – 16:00 on normal working days (Monday to
Friday, except for Public Holidays). Requests outside these times will be
dealt with on the next working day.
Trust Governance – Information Governance & Quality Compliance Team
Room 1.42
Woodlands House
Norwich Community Hospital
Bowthorpe Road
Norwich
NR2 3TU
Telephone: 01603 272279
Recipients should be aware that all E-Mails received or sent by this Trust
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.
Dear Mr. Saini
We thank you for and acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information
request dated 17^th May 2023.
We are making enquiries with respect to the information requested and will
respond within 20 working days 15^th June 2023. However, if we require
clarification regarding your request, we will be in contact with you and
the 20 working day period will start from the day that we receive your
clarification.
Your request has been allocated a reference number: FOI request No
FOI-23-0110. It would be greatly appreciated if you could utilise this
number in all future communications relating to your request.
With Regards
Tammy Hudson
Administrator
Freedom of Information
Trust Governance
Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust
Tel: 01603 272279
Email: [1][email address]
Room 1.38, Woodlands House, Norwich Community Hospital, Bowthorpe Road,
Norwich, NR2 3TU
[2]www.norfolkcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk
‘Enabling best care for our patients now and into the future’
Securityoff (FOI Purposes ONLY)
Recipients should be aware that all E-Mails received or sent by this Trust
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.norfolkcommunityhealthandcare...
Dear Mr Saini,
We refer to your Freedom of Information request dated 17^th May 2023.
Please find below our response regarding the information you have
requested.
Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust has not provided any treatment
to any overseas visitors from 2015 – 2023, therefore we have no activity
to report.
The Trust provides a complaints procedure to deal with complaints about
the Trust’s handling of requests for information. If you feel you need to
make a complaint in the first instance you should contact our Complaints
Officer at:
Norfolk Community Health & Care NHS Trust
Norwich Community Hospital
Bowthorpe Road
Norwich
NR2 3TU
Email: [1][email address]
If you feel you have exhausted our internal complaints procedure, you also
have the right and may feel you wish to contact the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
With Regards
Tammy Hudson
Administrator
Freedom of Information
Trust Governance
Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust
Tel: 01603 272279
Email: [2][email address]
Room 1.38, Woodlands House, Norwich Community Hospital, Bowthorpe Road,
Norwich, NR2 3TU
[3]www.norfolkcommunityhealthandcare.nhs.uk
‘Enabling best care for our patients now and into the future’
Securityoff (FOI Purposes ONLY)
Recipients should be aware that all E-Mails received or sent by this Trust
are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore may be
disclosed to a third party.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.norfolkcommunityhealthandcare...
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