Following the announcement this morning by the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt where he promised a crackdown on abuse of the NHS by people from overseas. The United Kingdom Independence Party has described Mr Hunt's pledge as "ludicrous". The party's health spokesman Councillor Steph McWilliam has argued that under pressure frontline medical services should not be doing the job of immigration control and highlighted the fact that EU cross-border healthcare legislation comes into affect this year
"The truth of the matter is doctors should not be in a position where they are being forced to double up as immigration inspectors. It's absolutely ludicrous. Frontline medical services are already under the cosh without having to check the documents of people who come through their doors. This will not only add a time consuming burden onto medical services, which simply could not be done in emergency situations anyway, but will also call up a whole host of problems when people complain of racial profiling when asked to demonstrate their right to free medical treatment.
"Also, what Mr Hunt is avoiding telling people is that from 25th October the EU directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare must be applied in the UK. That will allow anybody from the other 27 member states to come to the UK and access the NHS not only as tourists who require urgent care or when living and working abroad, but also by travelling especially to receive that medical care. His claim that he is 'determined to wipe out abuse in the system' is utter nonsense."
