CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Hi i,ve never been back since i moved here 3 yrs ago but am planning to go sometime this year with my family.
I still own a house in england . Can we visit a dentist , optician + Doctor or will we have to pay. My kids r all under 16 .

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Since you are not be a resident of the UK I personally would take out medical insurance - same as you would if your are a UK resident visiting across the pond. Emergency treatment in the UK is free but thats all I think. Better to be safe than bankrupt.

Most dentists in the UK are private so I would think that Canada would be cheaper even with the exchange rate (and especially if you have medical insurance here).

Do you think you will need to visit an optician while on holiday to the uk? If not, I would still think it's cheaper here in Canada since you earn Canadian dollars.

Enjoy your trip home catching up with friends and family :)

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

You will have to pay - why would you think otherwise?:frown:

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

The NHS is free to Residence of the UK so it just depends on whether you are going back for 2 weeks or over six months i guess...I don't personally think that they would reject you as long as you can give them a UK address but it is a moral question mroe than anything else.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

My sister in-law is a UK citizen in living in the US. Every time she comes back for a holiday she goes to the dentist/doctor etc and gets stuff done. They don't bat an eyelid.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

They will one day.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

...only if you are daft enough to say that you are a non-resident (apparently), and how likely is it that anyone will even think of asking you the question if you are still registered with the Doctor or Dentist?

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Some patients mention in passing that they live elsewhere, in the course of a conversation with a health care practitioner. The GP's receptionists may know them, someone in the waiting room may know that they live abroad. You can get found out and sent a bill.

It's a shame that people who do it aren't prosecuted for fraud.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Do you not have some sort of identification number for NHS and doesn't anyone ask for it when you go to a hospital, doctors office or anything?:confused:

Surely there must be some way of telling if a person is eligible for service or not.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

No, there is no requirement to show an NHS card or to know your number. I don't have a card. You merely register with your name and address at the hospital. There is no routine mechanism for billing in the NHS, no proof of eligibility. If I realised that someone wasnt resident then I would give them the relevant forms to complete and then eventually a bill would be sent to the patient. Its very easy to defraud the system.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

As the article says:

"However, people of any nationality coming to live in the UK are entitled to the same NHS services as any other citizen, as long as they are coming to make this their permanent home. This entitlement begins as soon as the person arrives in the UK.

So, if Mr Johnson came back to the UK 'permanently' (and, of course, his plans could change) then he should be able to receive treatment free of charge. But declaring himself a permanent resident of the UK again could cause him tax problems.

If his name is still on the books of a UK medical practice, the GP - who may not know he is non-resident - could refer him for free treatment."

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Yes I read it.
When Mr Johnson gets to the hospital and lets slip that he lives abroad, Fledermaus the radiographer gets him to fill out a form as he is non resident. So he gets a bill.

It happens.

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

Why should British citizens who choose to live abroad and obtain free treatment when visiting home be prosecuted for fraud? They are still British citizens, will hold a British passport, and more to the point, are likely to have paid into the system for many years before emigrating.

Surely it is the non-British nationals who exploit the NHS by obtaining free treatment having never paid anything into the system (i.e. the "health tourists") that should be targetted?

Re: CAN BRITS GET DENTAL,OPTICAL TREATMENT WHEN VISITING UK
 

at what point should the "entitlement" stop....someone who moved here when they were a child probably didn't pay anything someone who moved here when they were 20 and lived here for 20 years - should they still be entitled. The NHS is an insurance its there for the residents of the UK IMO once you move abroad you're 'entitlements" should stop - because if all the Brits who were abroad went back for "free" treatment the system would collapse.

As it is my mother and father are visiting for a holiday - they lived in the UK and paid taxes for 35 years - they are paying $700 ins each for a 5 week visit