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On BBC 2 Now!

  • Thread starter Thread starter asparagusp
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asparagusp

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My hospital, St Mary's, Paddington! It's been a good series with happy outcomes!
 
The focus tonight was on overseas patients needing emergency treatment and the NHS expecting or rather hoping for payment .....
 
asparagusp said:
The focus tonight was on overseas patients needing emergency treatment and the NHS expecting or rather hoping for payment
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Overseas visitors in any country travelling without travel insurance are foolish people, I have no sympathy for them if they are not insured.
 
mahola said:
The overseas officer is horrible. No compassion at all.
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The guy was a "jumped up" car park attendant in a nice warm indoor job.. I'm surprised he didn't pin those invoices to the incubator glass...!
 
I was admitted to A&E in a U.S. hospital last June, I was asked for my name and I offered written evidence of my insurance. I was still asked for my credit card details, "just in case" I had gone to the effort of creating a false letter from my travel insurance company. Just as well I wasn't seriously ill, still amuses me though They were really well geared up for foreign admissions. I even had my own case worker to make sure my wife was OK and any travel arrangements were sorted out.
I was discharged shortly after mentioning that I didn't think my insurance covered triple bypasses which they were recommending. Strangely my GP doesn't seem to think I need referring to a UK cardiac specialist. Time will tell.
 
Perhaps it should be a legal requirement that you have travel insurance if you travel overseas and asked at passport control to
produce evidence.

I agree Mahola that the overseas officer wasn't particularly nice but on the other hand asking for money in these circumstances requires toughness. However he could have waited until the patient was about to be discharged. The last thing the patient needs is anxiety about payment.
 
My view of the documentary & most of this "ilk" is this is a very cynical exersise in TV programming format...
Cheap entertainment..
The cases of the "overseas officer" were not highlighted on a liner timescale either.. Clever editing? He seemed cleaner shaven with the first case then later had a fuller beard growth. The final case was more stubble...

Interesting also with regards to obtaining "legal consent", recording & showing the images of these vulnerable patients in the final production & airing.....

Though, I can quite see the overseas officer would have snatched the hand off "15 minutes of fame."
 
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I wouldnt travel without insurance but only a fool wouldnt. It takes all sorts to make a world.
They are wrong to assume the nhs is free!
 
Vicky the patients featured did not come to the UK for treatment. In one case the patient was visiting hers sister who lived here, and in another a woman gave birth to three premature babies whilst in the UK.
 
asparagusp said:
Vicky the patients featured did not come to the UK for treatment. In one case the patient was visiting hers sister who lived here, and in another a woman gave birth to three premature babies whilst in the UK.
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Actually it was four.. One sadly died.
The mother was on her way to the USA to give birth to the "quadruplets" but got turned back to Nigeria, having medical complications on route home & diverted to a UK hospital having issues with no paperwork from the American hospital. Though Everthing else checked out.. (Visa & wot not.)

To be fair... I actually admired this woman's stoic for doing some scary endevours, under the circumstances..
Only to be exploited by a TV production crew.. They must have been rubbing their hands..
 
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