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- Type 1
GPs will be forced to police access to healthcare and impose charges on foreign nationals under plans to be announced this week by the government.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered an audit of the cost to the NHS of use by so-called health tourists.
The DH has confirmed he will announce details of the crackdown on Wednesday, which will include a registration and tracking system. GP practices will be forced to identify patients who do not qualify for free healthcare.
The NHS estimated in 2011/12 that it spent ?33m treating foreign nationals, ?21m of which was recovered, with ?12m written off.
http://www.gponline.com/News/article/1188389/GPs-vet-patients-health-tourism-crackdown/
So, how much is it going to cost to administer this, in wasted GP time? ?12m written off? In a ?100bn budget? What a complete waste of resources!
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered an audit of the cost to the NHS of use by so-called health tourists.
The DH has confirmed he will announce details of the crackdown on Wednesday, which will include a registration and tracking system. GP practices will be forced to identify patients who do not qualify for free healthcare.
The NHS estimated in 2011/12 that it spent ?33m treating foreign nationals, ?21m of which was recovered, with ?12m written off.
http://www.gponline.com/News/article/1188389/GPs-vet-patients-health-tourism-crackdown/
So, how much is it going to cost to administer this, in wasted GP time? ?12m written off? In a ?100bn budget? What a complete waste of resources!