Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to suspend NHS charges for secondary care for non-EEA visitors who require hospital treatment for covid-19 after their arrival in the UK.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been added to Schedule 1 of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations.
This means, as for any other infectious disease in Schedule 1, there can be no charge made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis, or, if positive, treatment, of this coronavirus.
No charge applies to a diagnostic test even if the result is negative. Also, no charge can apply to any treatment provided up to the point that it is negatively diagnosed.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether non-EEA visitors to the UK who are required to undergo testing for covid-19 will receive that test free of charge.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been added to Schedule 1 of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations.
This means that, as for any other infectious disease in Schedule 1, there can be no charge made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis or treatment, of this coronavirus.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the final NHS People Plan.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The final NHS People Plan will be published by the National Health Service in early 2020 and will set out a clear framework for collective action on workforce priorities, with a focus on growing and sustaining a well-skilled workforce across the whole NHS.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) women and (b) men have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 within 24 hours of their release from prison in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
This information is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 25 March 2019 to Question 236341, Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what the total sum was that NHS trusts (a) charged to and (b) recovered from patients not covered by the EHIC scheme under the NHS overseas visitors charging regime in (i) England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales in each financial year from 2015-16 to 2019-20.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The following table shows all identified and received directly chargeable income, excluding EHIC, S1, S2 and Immigration Health Surcharge income in each year from 2015/16, for England:
Year | Invoiced income | Payments received |
2015/16 | £68,481 | £28,854 |
2016/17 | £81,402 | £29,602 |
2017/18 | £86,836 | £29,086 |
2018/19 | £91,252 | £34,894 |
Notes:
1. Figures are in £000s. |
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2. Invoiced income is invoices raised in year. |
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3. Payments received are in year but may not relate to invoices raised in year. | ||
Figures for 2019/20 are not yet available. Figures for Scotland and Wales are a matter for the devolved administrations. |
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Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the (i) Academy of Royal Colleges, (ii) Royal College of General Practitioners and (c) Royal College of Midwives on those organisations' call for the NHS overseas visitors charging regime to be suspended pending an independent review of its impact on individual and public health; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Neither the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care nor the Ministers in the Department have had meetings with the Academy of Royal Colleges or the Royal College of General Practitioners regarding their call for the suspension of the National Health Service overseas visitors charging regime.
On 24 June 2019, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention (Jackie Doyle-Price MP) met with a representative of the Royal College of Midwives and others to discuss the issue of charging overseas visitors for maternity care.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 246493 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, whether the review document shared with Deighton Pierce Glynn setting out the findings of his Department’s December 2017 review of the functioning of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 was shared with any other party during the 2018 judicial review of that policy.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department conducted a review into the impact of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, with particular regard to any impact on vulnerable groups and those with protected characteristics.
The Department did not produce or publish a formal Review outcomes document. The advice that ministers received regarding the findings of the review, and the recommended next steps, was provided to the High Court, Deighton Pierce Glynn and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission in the summer of 2018 as part of judicial review proceedings.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) findings, (b) conclusions and (c) recommendations of the report entitled, Duty of care: midwives' experience of the NHS charging regime, published on 9 September 2019 by Maternity Action; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department has no plans to suspend The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations in relation to charges for maternity care, as recommended in the report ‘Duty of care?: The impact on midwives on NHS charging for maternity care.’
The Department is committed to considering evidence it receives in relation to the Regulations, including evidence set out in the report. The Department also works closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement to support NHS providers in the delivery of the charging regime; and to ensure that providers understand the guidance and how it should be properly and consistently implemented. This includes ensuring NHS Trusts fully understand that all maternity treatment must be provided to any chargeable woman, regardless of her ability to pay, and that they must not be discouraged from receiving it.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons NHS England has ceased printing and distributing hard copies of the How to register with a doctor leaflets for asylum seekers and refugees.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
NHS England is currently reviewing the information provided to patients. The “How to register with a doctor” leaflets remain available online and can be printed as necessary from the following link:
The process of registering with, and gaining access to, primary medical care services is the same for all patients, whether they are gypsies, travellers, homeless or vulnerable migrants. People do not need to provide proof of address to register with a general practitioner (GP).
The free NHS 111 service can assist anyone who has faced difficulty finding a GP or accessing other services in their local area.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2019 to Question 234719 on Primary Health Care, if his Department will develop a mandatory national Inclusion Health training and communication strategy to ensure that all GP receptionists and practice managers are aware of their responsibilities to patients with no fixed address, no identification or no proof of immigration status.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
The Primary Medical Care Policy and Guidance Manual for local commissioners managing general practitioner (GP) services is clear on inclusion in registration for GP services. People do not need to provide proof of address to register with a general practice.
We are aware, via Refugee Action, of instances where individual practices may have excluded patients with no documentation from registering with a GP. NHS England are raising these issues with local commissioners to ensure appropriate and targeted action, including training/education, reinforced if required by contractual action, to prevent a recurrence.