Hospitals owed £340k for treating foreigners

More than £340,000 is owed to hospitals across Staffordshire and the Black Country by foreigners who have undergone treatment over the past three years and not paid for it, figures revealed today.

The highest amount is owed to Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, where £318,440 in treatment costs is still outstanding. Only £100,560 of the £419,000 owed since April 2009 has been paid, according to figures released following a Freedom of Information request.

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is owed £19,451.81. Treatment costing £27,091 was carried out, with only £7,639 being clawed back.

Meanwhile foreign nationals owe Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust £7,550 out of an overall cost of treatment worth £25,835.

Figures from Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust were unavailable. Thirty-five trusts across the country responded to a Freedom of Information request regarding the amount of money still owed by foreign nationals for treatment they have undergone.

The data reveals the average unpaid debt for the provision of care to foreign nationals was £230,000 in the 35 trusts which responded.

If this figure was the same across all 168 English acute trusts, the total debt would be almost £40 million.

Foreign nationals livng in the UK are entitled to free NHS treatment, but visitors from outside are expected to either have health insurance or the bill is sent to their country of origin.

New Cross chief financial officer Kevin Stringer said 63 per cent of the money owed to the trust related to two patients who spent significant time in intensive care.

He said: "The trust is required to provide emergency care and care where immediately necessary.

"The majority of the outstanding debt falls into this category. The trust is securing payment through insurance and instalments which is worth £170,000 of this debt to date."