Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will introduce National Health Service numbers that differentiate between those who are entitled to the full facilities of the National Health Service without charge and those for whom such services are available on payment.

National Health Services numbers are a patient safety measure, and do not indicate either entitlement to free NHS care or chargeable status. Changes to the NHS record are being made to enable the NHS to supplement that record with information that will support a decision about whether a patient is chargeable or not when they present for NHS care.