Upfront charging of overseas patients
The BMA Annual Representative Meeting last month carried a motion proposed by Dr Jackie Applebee, of Tower Hamlets Division, stating:
“That this meeting calls on the BMA to publicly support the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Public Health in their call for the suspension of regulations that force hospitals to charge overseas visitors upfront for NHS care.”
Coincidentally, on the same day the motion was debated at conference, the Government were being questioned on the issue by the Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSCSC). Stephen Hammond MP, Minister of State for Health and MP for Wimbledon, was questioned alongside Sir Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care.
Dr Paul Williams MP, committee member and GP, asked Stephen Hammond about a review of changes to the rules regarding charging overseas patients, conducted by DHSC, which concluded that the changes had not deterred overseas visitors from using the NHS. In particular, Paul Williams wanted to know why the DHSC had refused repeated requests for the HSCSC to be allowed to see the document, resulting in Chris Wormold correcting the Minister to say that the report did not contain findings about the effects of the charging regime as a whole.
The session concluded without a commitment to publish the review which the HSCSC had asked for.
The full transcript of the Health Select Committee session can be read here.
Last updated : 16 Jul 2019Patient Access service update - proxy access now available (16 Jul 2019)
Patient Access have recently updated their service to allow proxy access. Proxy access is designed for those who need to use the service on behalf of someone else; this...NHS England premises policy review and NAO report on NHSPS (16 Jul 2019)
On 27 June, NHS England published its premises policy review. The full document is available here. The accompanying NHS England board paper summarises the review’s proposals as follows:NHS England board meeting 27 June 2019 (16 Jul 2019)
The NHS England board meeting on 27 June discussed various aspects of primary care and notable points included: The NHS Standard Contract now require community health services to be...Response to “Digital-First Primary Care” consultation on patient registration, funding and contracting rules (16 Jul 2019)
Responding to the consultation on amendments to the out of area registration rules and other measures intended to support and develop the “Digital First Primary Care” model as outlined in...Primary Care Networks (PCN) update – July 2019 (16 Jul 2019)
The start of this month saw the deadline for primary care networks to be finalised with CCGs. There have been a number of developments since our last newsletter: PCN process...Digital Roundtable event and practice nurse Action Learning Set (16 Jul 2019)
On 3 July we hosted a Digital Roundtable for IT leads and practice managers. Speakers included representatives from the Primary Care Digital Transformation team at NHS England and our own...New Introduction to Practice Finance module for practice managers (16 Jul 2019)
We are pleased to announce our new practice finance module will be going live from September 2019. The module provides a vital update for practice managers looking to improve their...Dr Michelle Drage awarded BMA Medal (16 Jul 2019)
On 26 June at the BMA Annual Representative Meeting in Belfast, Dr Michelle Drage, our Chief Executive, was awarded the Association Medal in recognition of her “distinguished service to the...Viewpoint: LGBT are you in or out? (05 Jul 2019)
Ahead of the London Pride March, Richard Watson, Analytical Manager for the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) looks at inclusivity in the NHS and wider community. Working on the NHS...MWord 40 (20 Jun 2019)
Guidance
We provide expert guidance for practices in our guidance section, as well as an archive of other materials you may find useful.
GP Support
Contact our GP Support team if you need help or advice.
The team provide professional and pastoral support to GPs and practice teams on a broad range of issues.
follow us on...
