UK Dentists To Assess Whether Foreign Patients Should Pay For Treatment
Dentists in the UK will be asked to determine whether foreign patients should pay a contribution towards their dental care, it has been confirmed.
A consultation document has been drawn up with details of new measures to ensure that Britain is not being used as a centre for free healthcare. Under the new guidelines, GPs, hospital staff and dentists will be asked to ascertain whether or not foreign patients should be paying for their treatment.
Officials from the Department of Health have admitted that it will be difficult to form an effective system to find out who should be paying for NHS healthcare, but they insist that changes should be made to ensure that the NHS is paying only for those who have rights to receive taxpayer-funded care.
When more stringent immigration measures were announced by the government, the British Dental Association called for clarification on how this would affect NHS provision. Health Minister, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed that there would be charges in place for people who are coming to the UK from outside of Europe for more than six months. The suggested fee is a levy of a minimum of £200.
Mr Hunt told MPs that it is important to ensure that those using the NHS are paying towards it and that the system is not abused by people looking to take advantage of free healthcare.
The consultation states that dental fees should be chargeable to people who are not eligible for NHS care, regardless of where they are treated and who provides the treatment.
The measures have been welcomed by many, but some organisations are worried that the changes place more pressure on health professionals and place them in a difficult situation in cases where people need care but cannot afford it.
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