I realise the title of my post is quite harsh but I wanted to warn others of the problem my family came across today. I work in the NHS and am horrified that this happened today. My daughter was born in England, has lived in Scotland and is currently living in London. She has been extremely stressed as has had a significant health scare and requires several further tests to explain the cause. Hopefully all will turn out to be well but currently she is booked to see an oncologist and a cardiologist. On arrival at hospital today to have some of these further tests, she was taken aside for 'interview' and asked where she came from, where she was born and could she 'prove it' - she was asked did she have her passport with her? other forms of identification? statements?? All of this BEFORE any talk of her appointment. Eventually she was permitted to have the tests ONLY after an assurance that they could have a copy of her passport and that she SIGNED an agreement to pay for the tests if she failed to prove she was not an 'international'. After this interrogation she was in bits and phoned me in tears. After I managed to calm her (her cardiologist advises to avoid stress until they discover what her heart problem is) she contacted her GP who was outraged, told her this was racism and urged her to place a formal complaint with the 'Parliamentary Health Ombudsman' as they had no reason to do this other than single her out because of her colour and surname. Therefore I urge you all, should you ever come across this, to know this practice is NOT normal IS racism and should be reported. At this point it is believed a member of staff contacted management as my daughter had some 'colour' to her and it was management who carried out the 'interview'. This represents a very scary precedent and a road the NHS should not go down. So stand up for your human rights and speak out if you ever are faced with such an interrogation. One of my daughters friends is a doctor who has arranged for her to meet another friend, a human rights lawyer, incase she is targeted again. Please take care and please fight for our NHS, it is flawed in some ways but is a potential lifesaver (if you can get past management). I worry for when the EU can no longer have our back.
NHS Racism: I realise the title of my post is... - Thyroid UK
NHS Racism
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This area is a mess. The ex wife of a friend comes to the UK from Greece for non-urgent medical care including operations. We have so many people coming here specifically for heath care but it is completely wrong to single out people on some vague suspicion. We all have NHS numbers, it would be so easy to ask for the number (or look it up) for each patient in a non-urgent consultation. We've got NI Numbers and NHS numbers, either should be sufficient.
My daughter suggested this but the manager said she had a number starting '714' and all numbers starting with '706' will be investigated. Her GP said this is rubbish as she doesn't have a '714' and if they had checked online they would clearly see this. Instead she was interrogated. As a former nurse I cannot and never will condone their actions.
This is a disgusting state of affairs in the 21st century these people should be ashamed of themselves and your daughter should definitely put in a complaint they should not get away with this.
At the risk of sounding political, dare I say, Brexit rides again!
I'm so sorry your daughter had to suffer this insult. It must have been awful for her! Complaints should definitely be made.
oh lord, what an awful experience! I hope she can recover. Sad times indeed.
RFU,
It is racist because the assumption was made that a brown woman with a foreign sounding name is not entitled to NHS care. As Jim said, the manager should have checked her NI and NHS medical nos. I hope she makes a formal complaint about totally unacceptable behaviour.
I do want NHS to stop health tourism but they don't need to indulge in racial profiling.
There's no need for ID Cards. NHS only have to ask for NHS medical no.
An NHS medical number that can be fabricated and no way of identifying that the person is who they say they are. So it's not that simple.
So you're saying that the 0.5% of health tourist patients (and from that figure we have to deduct expats) are going to the trouble of finding a persons address, gp and NHS number? If they do that and come over for treatment then they must be very ill and I wish them good luck
It's a reaction to health tourism. I welcome the NHS controlling who receives healthcare but obviously British people shouldn't have any problems.
I'm confused how your daughter was unable to convince them of her nationality, does she have a foreign accent and no medical history?
Rather than calling people racist, perhaps you can understand such checks are necessary in this era of mass immigration. The alternative is you'll be waiting 12 months for an appointment while every health tourist queues ahead of you.
It is racist
"huge drain on the nhs" "every health tourist queues ahead of you"
The total spend on "health tourism" is a fraction of the NHS budget (less than 0.5%?) the majority of which has been shown to be British expats returning to utilise free gp and secondary care (surely we're not pointing the finger at the tanned expat grannies?)
Yes, it does happen but it is the British people's sense of self entitlement that will be, by far, the more significant factor to the viability of the NHS.
Talking of health tourism... As a health care provider in the Scottish NHS I see English tourists on a regular basis that access free NHS services whilst on holiday in Scotland that they would have to pay for in England (they are all aware of what they are doing).
Of course, we always treat them as we treat every other patient, we never interrogate them (even if they are a huge drain and are in the queue ahead of you) and we always make sure they know how lucky we are to able to access these services.
A bit of sense. The idea of health tourism has been exaggerated and exploited by certain branches of the press. Disgraceful, degrading behaviour when you are at an extremely vulnerable place. It sounds like this lady has plenty of support from her GP. I hope she gets the treatment she needs.
I appreciate we all think differenetly but, for me, before I brand anyone/anything anything, I try and research both sides of the story. Did they treat your daughter like this for NO reason whatsoever? I would need to know both sides before I would be able to say this was racism. I always need facts for anything I read especially on the internet and especially political, before 'taking sides' or spreading 'fake' negativity.
In this day and age, with the internet, it is easy for people who do not think to form knee-jerk opinions, regarding all sorts of things because they do not bother to research what they are reacting to. I believe it is creating a deep unrest in the country and I fear for the future.
Brexit is a prime example. It continues to 'get my goat', not because of what it is but because of people's reactions to it. Who ACTUALLY KNOWS FOR SURE what will happen with Bexit?? Those who automatically slam it (and have done since day one based on negativity) are you on the inside and know it will be 'bad' for our country? I have no idea, it is too early to tell, I do not know the facts/final plan etc., so I certainly do not slam it as I believe in positivity before negativity, especially 'fake' negativity.
I say, wait until facts are known (ie something definite announced) and then decide/comment on a FACT.
I do know for a fact that I had no problem travelling to Europe in my youth before we became 'one' and Europe opened the borders to one and all. I used to love my holidays, getting Francs, Drachma, etc. Sure, had to show passport, no worries, never offended me. If this were one thing to happen, I have no issues with going back to this, I think it is a good idea. If ill abroad we also had to pay (alot) for treatment and no-one questioned it.
I also believe the NHS needs to crack down ANYWHERE where they can save, anywhere they lose money. I believe tourists from outside the UK should pay for their care. The NHS should also, for example, look at their stationary suppliers, toilet roll suppliers, medical suppliers, wasted script costs etc. ALL of these 0.0x% added together have caused the problem and they all need rectifying.
I am glad to hear Scotland treats us 'English tourists' like any other patient, for a minute there I almost forgot I live in the 'United Kingdom/Great Britain and that people of the UK are all classed as British. I feel that if Scotland were completely independent from the rest of the UK, ie received no money whatsoever from the rest of the UK to run themselves, they would be perfectly within their right to charge 'tourists' from wherever to use their services. As it stands, we are the UK, if we live in the UK we can get NHS treatment wherever we are and I sincerely hope there is no undertone behind the scenes regarding 'English (British) tourists' using the NHS in Scotland. They are UK citizens requiring treatment.
So please, when asking such an important question of people, please state the facts of both sides/why/what led up to them doing what they did etc. Therefore, people can make an informed decision.
Remember, positivity helps stress, negativity fuels it. Be positive, do not feul it.
This is an insidious thing that appears to be creeping in to things like the NHS. Seems to me that it is being dismantled on the quiet and the rules are changing on the quiet (i.e. In this instance, Only British people can use it). I think we have a fairly racist government at the moment tbh. I know that some may disagree with me but a deal has been done with the DUP who are known for their "tolerance" (yes I'm being sarcastic) and I haven't forgotten the inflammatory buses warning people to get out of the country. Your daughter's race is evidently the reason she was cross questioned like some sort of criminal and its disgusting. Sorry to bring in the politics, don't usually bring it in to discussion but I think it's a very political issue. Definitely put in the complaint, I'd also contact your mp.
It's absolutely racist! NHS mantra is free at the point of access not free at the point of access if your white and British. I'm no fan of health tourism but I think the biggest problem affecting the NHS is a lack of investment in it. When the government can lie and say we can't afford it and then bribe the terrorists in the dup with what I understand is now £2bn (around 6years civil service pay rises) I feel that they insult the intelligence of the whole country. ID cards are utter nonsense when we have NHS numbers etc.
I would also add that the majority of immigrants contribute to the NHS and maybe you should remember that many immigrants work within it.
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