Foreign National Patients

HC Deb 26 October 2000 vol 355 cc167-8W

Mr. Boswell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking(a) to discover the extent and (b) to diminish misuse of the National Health Service by unauthorised foreign national patients. [134291]

Ms Stuart

Access to National Health Service hospital treatment is based on residence in the United Kingdom, not nationality. All patients should be asked as part of

Mr. Hutton

The National Health Service Plan, announced in July, made it clear that all NHS patients should have access to high-quality services designed round their clinical needs.

Discrimination on the grounds of age within the NHS is completely unacceptable. The Plan made it clear that we will challenge and remove any arbitrary policies based on age.

The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People, to be published later this year and introduced from April 2001, will help to ensure that ageism is not tolerated in the NHS. The NSF will for the first time set national standards and define service models for older people's health and social care.