§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to entitle British citizens in the British dependencies to medical treatment in the same way as other British citizens.
§ Mr. MellorNo. Entitlement to free National Health Service hospital treatment is based not on citizenship but on residence. Dependent territories are responsible for their own internal arrangements, including health care. Whether, within their provision for health care, resources should be devoted to referring patients overseas, if specialist facilities are unavailable locally, is a matter for the individual territories themselves to determine.