Health tourists who give birth in Britain but don’t pay have doubled

December 30, 2016

Majority of mothers came from outside the EU and did not qualify for NHS care
Barts Health in London amassed unpaid bills equating to £1.25million
Some hospitals plan to ask pregnant women to show ID prior to giving birth

Ross Parker For The Daily Mail

Published:
21:18 EST, 29 December 2016

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Updated:
09:27 EST, 30 December 2016

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The number of pregnant mothers travelling to Britain from foreign countries to give birth on the NHS and refusing to pay for their care has doubled in two years.

The failure by the NHS to clamp down on health tourism has led to critics branding hospital officials as a ‘soft touch’.

In 2015/16, at least 2,167 women claimed free maternity care when they were not entitled to do so, according to data obtained in a Freedom of Information request. This compares with 1,078 in 2013/14.

The number of pregnant women coming to the UK to give birth and refusing to pay for their care has more than doubled in two years

The majority of mothers came from outside the EU and did not qualify for NHS treatment at maternity units. The figures highlight hospitals’ inability to extract payment from health tourists who are looking to take advantage of the lack of payment safeguards.

Almost 100 hospital trusts – two thirds of those asked – provided the figures. The total outstanding bill for their care last year alone was £7.4million, The Sun reported.

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Barts Health in London had amassed the highest amount of unpaid bills, which equated to a staggering £1.25million in 2015/16.

With the NHS suffering from a severe funding crisis, the figures will anger critics after trusts admitted the majority of bills would be written off. At least seven trusts are chasing more than 100 foreign patients for the costs of their maternity care.

Joyce Robins, of Patient Concern, said: ‘The NHS cannot pay for the whole world to have its babies.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said women should never be denied maternity care but it is right that there are checks to ensure they are eligible for free care

‘We are seen as a soft touch and it has got to stop.’

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Women should never be denied maternity care or made to wait for it. But it’s also right that the NHS checks if mothers are eligible for free care and, where necessary, payment is recovered. This Government was the first to take action … last year we clawed back £289million from overseas visitors with more to come.’

A number of hospitals are planning to ask pregnant mothers to show identification prior to giving birth.

The latest figures come just over a week after it was revealed overall health tourism cost the NHS £30million in unpaid bills over 12 months.

Data obtained from 104 hospitals revealed £29.5million was owed by foreign patients in 2015/16. But experts believe the figure is the tip of the iceberg because it covers only patients who have been identified as ineligible for free care.

ID SCHEME NETS £150,000

Plans to make all patients provide identification before receiving non-emergency care have been given a welcome boost after the success of a trial scheme.

Peterborough City Hospital has recovered nearly 75 per cent more cash from foreign visitors since introducing the scheme in 2013, increasing income by more than £150,000 a year.

The NHS trust which runs the hospital is understood to be the first to ask for ID for non-emergency care.

It is thought only 37 per cent of money owed by foreign patients in Peterborough was recovered before the scheme, but that figure has risen to a staggering 95 per cent. St George’s Hospital in London is reportedly planning to introduce the scheme.