When people visit the UK they are granted an NHS number with their visitor visa, unfortunately this courtesy has been abused and now the British tax payer is paying for people all over the world to receive free health care even if they have health problems which they landed with.
The article which I read mentions areas such as HIV, oncology and maternity which have been subject to the abuse of tourists. A pregnant woman who finds out that she has complications can easily get a visitor’s visa and fly to the UK where she will then go into labor and have the professors deliver her baby and deal with the complications, for free.
Although we do not want to discourage tourism in the UK, surely there is a better way to accommodate emergency health issues which the tourist could encounter without having the citizens of the country being short serviced for the same level of expertise?
The professor in the article has called for an audit and that measures are put in place to stop the abusive behavior.
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