§ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks are carried out by (a) general practitioners and (b) hospitals to establish that patients from abroad are entitled to health care free at the point of delivery. [155796]
§ Mr. Hutton: General practices need to check details of an individual's residence or previous registration before deciding whether to accept the person as a registered patient, either on a permanent or temporary basis. This is set out in regulations and guidance. For hospital services, regulations require the national health service trust providing treatment to make
such enquiries as it is satisfied are reasonable in all the circumstances, including the state of health of the overseas visitorto determine a patient's chargeable status. Guidance makes clear that all patients should be asked a baseline residency question, but it is for individual trusts to decide how far it is reasonable to go in following up on the response.