Service
NHS Treatment is not free for everyone, and the Overseas Visitors Hospital Charging Regulations place a legal obligation on the trust to identify and charge patients that are not entitled to NHS services.
We all know that when we go on holiday overseas we need travel insurance and/or a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to ensure that we can receive the appropriate treatment.
The same principles apply to visitors coming to the UK. Emergency treatment should not be withheld but a person not ordinarily a resident (i.e. living in the UK lawfully, voluntary or properly settled at the time of treatment) is not automatically entitled to NHS treatment free of charge.
If you are a European visitor, please show a valid EHIC card, otherwise you may have to pay for healthcare.
If a visitor to the UK is not living here on a lawful and settled basis they may have to pay.
Please be aware that NHS care and treatment is only free to people who are ordinarily resident in the UK. Entitlement is not given by having a UK Passport, having an NHS Number or having a National Insurance Number.