One in 20 labour ward mothers are ‘health tourists’

Health tourism on labour wards could be a far bigger problem than officially recognised, according to newly-released figures.

One in every 20 women giving birth in the country’s biggest hospital trust is not eligible for free NHS care, the statistics reveal.

Last year the Department of Health and Social Care decided against rolling out systematic ‘eligibility checking’ of NHS maternity patients – partly because trials of the scheme appeared to show health tourism was not a big issue.

But Barts NHS Trust, which runs five hospitals and cares for 2.5 million people across East London, has released figures suggesting about five per cent of pregnant women who gave birth last year were potentially health tourists.

During the financial year 2018-19, trust staff helped deliver 14,842 babies.

Some 739 mothers were not eligible for free maternity care and were invoiced but the figures do not reveal how many paid.

Former NHS cancer surgeon J Meirion Thomas said: ‘These figures show health tourism in maternity departments isn’t trivial, as health mandarins seem to have mistakenly concluded, but is actually a major issue.

‘The Department of Health needs to get a grip and roll out patient-checking nationwide, rather than sticking its head in the sand.’

The NHS will never refuse to treat a pregnant woman. However, under regulations that came into force in 2017, hospitals should try to identify those who do not qualify for free care and bill them. 

Eligibility is usually based on whether a patient is ‘ordinarily resident’ in the UK. 

Those on short-term visas should pay an annual fee of £300 or £400 to use the NHS.

Maternity tourists are each billed around £6,000, typically covering ante-natal care and the delivery. It means Barts is likely to be owed almost £4.5 million by the women.

But Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust in South London billed health tourist mothers £1.2 million in the five years to April 2019 and only recouped £30,000.

Last year, Barts overspent its budget by £85 million. Its deficit for this year is currently about £120 million.

The Barts maternity figures came in a response to a Freedom of Information request from Keep Our NHS Public which wants the fees scrapped. 

Jackie Applebee, a GP in Tower Hamlets, said the fees ‘deter the most vulnerable from seeking the medical care they need through fear of destitution and deportation’.

A Barts spokesman said it ‘does not have discretion to waive charges that apply for patients not eligible for free NHS care. Anyone needing immediately necessary or urgent treatment will always be treated. All maternity care is considered immediately necessary.’