Would you support the doctors' strike.

My hospital has newish signs up saying if you don't normally live in the UK you may be charged for your treatment. The signs have pictures of suitcases and an airport trolley on them.

Re the podiatry services. My Mum lives in Scotland and used to use the service at her local hospital. Last year the service changed and now most patients see someone from a group of health care workers recently trained to carry out basic treatment for £10 per session. She needs more than the treatment on offer and now sees a local chiropodist, who is now so busy that he's not taking on new patients. Apart from the new £10 service, podiatry is now an emergency only service.

I support the junior doctors 100%.

Junior doctor is anything below consultant! My daughter is a GP. The stress and constant negative comments from the press - especially the Daily Mail and the like - makes her wonder what she is doing! I would of course support the strike. It's time people realise how good the NHS is before this government privatises it!

Hunt living in a rose tinted bubble of his own. What is there in his case to engage public support?
The only bright spot in his gruesome career as a minister was when he was being welcomed on R4 Today as culture secretary and the presenter fell into one of the worst/best Spoonerism of all time.

There's a saying with horses 'no foot, no horse'. I'm sure that can equally be applied to people. Yet another false economy.

Podiatry is to become an emergency only service. Even patients with alzheimers won't be seen routinely, only once their chronic foot conditions get so bad they need emergency treatment. This will also apply to people with type 2 diabetes (I'm not sure about type 1)

This decision hasn't been made by clinicians, who recognise preventive treatment is safer and less expensive.

Another step (pun not intended) towards privatisation. Most private podiatrists charge about £30 a session. A lot of money for anyone on a basic wage or pension.

Hunt was best described on radio 4 imo.

Hunt is pushing the juniors to the limit. They are due to strike 3 times I December. Hunt thinks that he has public support. Ballot closes on Wednesday.

So where are they living all these "ex-pats" (migrants surely as ex-pats are people who are temporarily abroad on a work contract) who go back to the UK for treatment and why on earth would they? The biggest groups are in France and Spain where health care is very good. I don't know anyone who isn't very satisfied with the prompt, high-quality care we get here in France and my son has been in Spain for over twenty years and speaks highly of the service there. I think it may have been true in the big waves of lifestyle migration ten years ago, but I suspect a lot of those people didn't really settle anyway, didn't bother to register in the local system and have long since gone.
Interestingly there is a strike in the French health service today (not infrequent) which is about the way doctors are paid. At the moment you pay the GP directly and then get reimbursed. The doctors say that if patients don't have to pay the money upfront then they may make unecessary appointments because they think it is free. Food for thought?
On behalf of my family in the UK, I am very concerned about the way the government treats the health professionals of the NHS.

granjura As you say, that is ridiculous when someone has insurance or is perfectly able and willing to pay.

I know of two ex pats who come back here for treatment - one I know personally who now lives in the US. The other was an obnoxious man sitting next to me on the bus who regaled me with his views about Britain going to the dogs - choc-a-bloc with foreigners - etc. etc. and who then proceeded to tell me that he'd only come back for a couple of months to get some medical treatment and then he'd be glad to get "home"!

Agreed.

2 years ago, some cousins from Arizona asked us to take them around the Cotswolds for a holiday. She fell out of our car and scraped off the skin of her shin, full length and about 8 cm wide - yiikes - we called 999 and she was taken to A&E by ambulance to Bedford. She was released a few hours later and we went to reception- she saying that she is from the USA and has full holiday insurance and wanted to pay. They said there was no need- she insisted, and they said, no truly, you are welcome. Why oh why- she is a millionaire and had full insurance and her credit card at the ready!

I'm not suggesting it is a good idea to refuse treatment to immigrants granjura> My point was about individuals who are over stayers, hiding under the radar so far as paying tax or NI goes to avoid being deported but receiving thousands of pounds worth of treatment on the NHS There is a huge difference between asylum seekers or immigrants and people in this country who have had their situation examined and been refused the right to remain or those who arrive as students and never leave but never become legal.

I've just visited Germany. I took my EU health card with me along with me and wouldn't expect the Germans to pay for any medical treatment I may have needed in that country. I'm not suggesting poverty stricken asylum seekers should be expected to pay for their treatment but I do believe we need to consider more effective ways of collecting funds from non British / EU people, here illegally or on holiday.

there are no figures or evidence out there. Expats who illegally use the NHS are not detected- because they 'look', sound and have names, which are not picked up by staff- and family addresses. So yes, anecdotal- via a life-time of experience re DH's surgery, and comments on several expat forums, where many many people say that this is what they do- knowing full well they are not entitled to NHS care, or drugs, or eye tests, etc.

I had an eye test done at Vision Express the other day- and they asked me to sign a form for NHS cost, and I insisted on paying- as I refuse to act fraudulently- despite paying all our lives for it- and DH dedicating his whole life to the NHS, working very very long hours!

Not a good idea to refuse treatment on immigrants with TB, or other communicable diseases like TB or STDs- though? is it?

Most ex-pats have paid NI for many, many years, so at least they contributed.

I don't know why it is so difficult - you have to produce insurance if you fall ill overseas before they will look at you.

Do you have any evidence to support that claim granjura?
I don't mean to be confrontational it's a genuine question. I have first hand experience of large family groups, here illegally (arrived as students for example and remained) who are being treated for significant, chronic, life long conditions with absolutely no right to that treatment unless they pay. I suspect this group is larger than the ex pat group but maybe I'm wrong.

The mian culprits of health tourism are British expats btw, who are no longer entitled to the NHS but use family address, etc,

Yes every few moths J Hunt says he's going to crack down on health tourism and that it will raise lots of money. I am very sceptical - for the reasons you outline and also because I don't think he has the information on which to draw conclusions. He'd only know how much money if the data was being carefully kept about the exact nationality and visa status of all patients and I would be amazed if it was.
Just part of the "lets blame the foreigners" game that the Tories are playing.

If you start charging in a system that isn't really set up as a profit driven, commercial concern, I would think it would cost more money than it took in.

Personnel would have to be employed to be responsible for presenting bills and checking that they are paid, issuing receipts and keeping a tally of incoming payments and outstanding amounts. Cheques and cash would have to be paid and cash closely monitored to prevent pilfering or a more sophisticated fraud. What would happen if people didn't pay - would they be chased up? More expense.

It has crossed my mind at times that there ought to be some sort of fine to discourage people from repeatedly making appointments and then not keeping them. But, again, I'm sure it would end up being labour intensive and costly.

And often such payments or fines start off being a fairly affordable amount but they don't stay that way - as I'm sure people in controlled parking zones can testify.

What good would that do though ravenscroft?

Yes I support the nurses strike too,and I would charge £5 to everybody who went to A&E !

You can join on that page, too.

nhap.org/agm-conference-report-2015/

Just for you, bags.

nhap.org/deteriorating-nhs-finances-are-a-direct-result-of-this-governments-chronic-underfunding/

Luckygirl, I could have written your post ... so won't repeat.

OH also says the same about gaining the necessery experience, and also fast, confident diagnostic skills.

What has happened to the National Health Action Party? I haven't heard anything in the news about it recently.

I asked a serious question - so that's the answer then? Sign petitions?

Obviously, Tegan. Then moan when the NHS disappears.
There is an e-petition on the doctor's scheme which has nearly 90,000 signatures.

Do nothing then .