§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration has been given to the question of medical confidentiality in his discussions on charging overseas visitors for National Health Service treatment.
§ Sir George YoungI cannot see any new issues of confidentiality arising from our proposal, but I have no doubt that the professional bodies whom we shall be consulting will tell us if they see any problems on this subject.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what definition of 'ordinary residence' he intends to use to check whether a person is entitled to free National Health Service treatment when overseas visitors are to be charged.
§ Sir George Young'Ordinary residence' is not defined in the National Health Service Act 1977, and its interpretation will be a matter for the courts. We intend to give health authorities some broad guidance based on relevant legal rulings. Certain categories of people on the borderline will be exempted by the regulations and this should reduce the area within which uncertainties of interpretation of ordinary residence might occur.
§ Mr. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what questions he intends to be asked in order to check if someone is entitled to free National Health Service treatment when overseas visitors are to be charged.
§ Sir George YoungAfter consultations with selected NHS representatives, I am satisfied that hospitals can ask a few simple questions about a person's home address in a non-discriminatory way, looking for supporting evidence only in doubtful cases. In many cases, hospitals do already need to inquire into a person's home address. We shall be consulting the NHS and ethnic minority organisations about some alternative forms of words before we decide which questions to recommend.