porterpan

Finding it almost impossible to get clarity from NHS about whether my wife is entitled NHS pre/post-natal care & hospital delivery if we have to go to UK. Anyone have recent experience or insight on this?
It looks as if the visa she goes in on has an impact - overseas visitor or working are the options - am I right?
Thanks for your thoughts!

pennylessinindia

As a Visitor to the UK you can not access the NHS for a delivery.
If she was on a settlement visa or any long term work visa she would be able to access he NHS. If she was just travelling for private medical treatment she could apply for a visit visa - medical.

James516

We've actually been in this position. Your options are:

1) Decide that you are intending to remain in the UK. You are therefore a UK resident in the eyes of the NHS and entitled to free care. Note that this will probably require registering with an NHS GP. If you subsequently decide to return to Oz post-birth, fair enough.

2) She will be covered for emergencies which certainly includes delivery and may include some pre-natal care if the pregnancy is complicated in any way. Post-natally the child will be a UK resident and entitled to all normal NHS care- health visitors etc.

This is all assuming you (the father) are a UK citizen, and that your wife has some sort of permanent residence in the UK.

Frankly NHS billing departments don't know much about immigration law, so you should be able to maintain the line that you are now intending to live permanently in the UK and therefore your wife is entitled to NHS treatment. And you never know, it could turn out to be true - if your baby (god forbid) had a serious medical condition that would be better treated in the UK than Oz, you may very well end up staying there.

porterpan

Thanks pennyless, very clear.

Can I ask where your info is from? And how long-term is 'long-term' for a work visa? (we work in SE Asia and would be returning for not much more than 6 months).
Cheers

porterpan

Thanks James, nice to hear from someone who's been there too.

Can I clarify, So in case 2) you mean arriving in UK pregnant and calling in to A&E when labour starts, then relying on them not being very clued up to avoid being charged?

Unfortunately my wife has no permanent residence in UK, I don't know if that changes your perspective?

Pollyana

I'm moving this to the UK forum - some of the posters in there have posted a lot of NHS info in the recent past and may be more able to help.

rebeccajo

I think that's a pretty bad plan.

Owing the NHS can actually cause problems with any future visas for her.

SanDiegogirl

From previous posts it appears that you live in Australia, in Sydney with Australian wife. You have lived in Asia on and off and have thoughts of visiting relatives in the UK when the baby is born.

Therefore your wife has no eligibility to have pre/post natal care or delivery in the UK under the NHS system.

The NHS is for people permanently settled in the UK, not for short term stayers or visitors. Its paid for in part by the British taxpayer.

Would you really contemplate flying in and then using the NHS in the hope that they would not be clued up enough to realise that you did not live in the UK?

porterpan

Thanks! Your guesswork is partially right. We live and work in SE Asia.
Living in the US you may not have encountered the Australia/UK healthcare agreement - some care in each country is available for tax-payers in the other country (a different arrangement to what US residents deal with). I'm clarifying whether childbirth etc is included.

You notice I mentioned working visas - that could indeed make my wife a UK taxpayer - I hope it didn't sound like we're trying to scam our way to free treatment! The Australian treatment available to us is better, but we might be forced to be in the UK by other factors.

As for the last option you mention. No. That's why I asked James516 for clarification - is that really what he was implying?

Hope that's clearer now! Thanks again for any further help

porterpan

Hi Pollyanna,
understand your rationale, but this is a specifically Australian & UK situation due to their unique healthcare agreement. Any chance of the thread going back to the Australia forum? (you can see it's causing some confusing posts from people not aware of this).

SanDiegogirl

I lived in the UK for 50 years so am very familiar with the UK NHS system.

There is no reciprocal arrangement for NHS treatment for Australian citizens.

Unless you live in the UK and are legally resident there, you are not eligible for any treatment, except emergency treatment, in the UK.

Should you or you wife obtain work visas to live and work in the UK then eligibility becomes available to you both.

Pomster

The other thing to bear in mind is that international flying cut off dates for pregnant women is about 28 weeks.

So if she was to come to UK pregnant,she would potentially have to be in UK for 12 +weeks before her due date.

And they do ask where you were registered before etc before you are accepted by a GP, which would not help with your plan.

luvwelly

Are you sure? What's this about then....http://www.humanservices.gov.au/spw/...-35-0909en.pdf

If she's about to drop a baby, that's essential treatment surely?

Mummy in the foothills

It is essential care but they would also know she that she arrived in UK knowingly pregnant. Like Pomster said she'd be there about 12 weeks before delivery, she would probably be handed a bill for delivery, it's called Health care tourism and is frowned on. Other people arriving and using the NHS for things like this have been billed, I remember reading about it on the BBC.com but it was a while back. When the NHS says they'll cover essential treatment they mean, you broke a leg or had a heart attack.
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.g...tors/index.htm

porterpan

Thanks Luvwelly, that's quite right, there's no question that there is a reciprocal arrangement - both from published UK and Aus government docs and from personal experience. (UK side can be seen in bottom section of the following page http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/E...able/DH_074379)

My query remains the same: does the reciprocal arrangement cover maternity care/childbirth? I'd like to think that counts as 'essential hospital care', too, but we're not going to take a risk that it's not included!

Anyone with recent experience of this?

I'm starting to suspect that central gov is deliberately vague about what's included in order to shift the decision-making responsibility (& liability) to the individual UK hospital providing care - perhaps contacting the local hospital is the next step forward.