Back to UK for health treatment..

[IvorBiggun2]

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

That just tells you what information is stored on your passport making it difficult to make a forgery . 

Thank for the correction.   

[3NUMBAS]

clampdown on expats going back to UK for treatment if you have resided abroad.its hard enough for brits to see a consultant as it is ,i have been waiting for 6 months to see a consultant ,theres a backlog due to covid 

[brewsterbudgen]

I've worked in Thailand as a TEFL teacher continuously since 2005. The day my work permit ends, so does my right to stay in Thailand and I will most likely have to return to the UK, with my British son who was born in Thailand. I fully expect both of us to have access to the NHS from day 1. 

Edited November 22, 2021 by brewsterbudgen

[IvorBiggun2]

6 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

i have been waiting for 6 months to see a consultant ,theres a backlog due to covid 

I'm sure that if your illness was deemed an emergency then you'd be seen straight away. 6 months waiting can't be that serious?

[theoldgit]

4 hours ago, Phulublub said:

Your NI contributions paid for current expenditure, including provision of health care servics for everyone entitled to them, including you. 

 

No that's not correct, National Insurance contributions are paid into a fund, from which some state benefits are paid. This includes the state pension, statutory sick pay or maternity leave, or entitlement to additional unemployment benefits.

 

This was made very clear to me when I wrote to the Health Secretary calling foul in the change of rules surrounding NHS charges for visiting expats of pensionable age, even though I hadn't mentioned NI contributions in my submission.

 

The NHS is funded from general taxation, many of us pay substantial amounts of UK tax on their pensions, with many joining the ranks of the higher rate tax payers as the freeze in personal allowances bites over the next few years.

 

 

[Phulublub]

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

It is an emergency for the authorities if he is left to roam the streets of the UK infecting others!

But he is not in the UK...and has been suggested that by now he will not be infectious...so, once again, if it is such a serious condition (for the OP) that it is considered necessery to have emergency treatment, then he should be doing exactly that, not flying to the UK and then suddenly "discovering" he has this "emergency".

 

PH

 

PH

[Chris.B]

4 minutes ago, Phulublub said:

But he is not in the UK...and has been suggested that by now he will not be infectious...so, once again, if it is such a serious condition (for the OP) that it is considered necessery to have emergency treatment, then he should be doing exactly that, not flying to the UK and then suddenly "discovering" he has this "emergency".

 

Try reading the original post....

[Phulublub]

22 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

 

No that's not correct, National Insurance contributions are paid into a fund, from which some state benefits are paid. This includes the state pension, statutory sick pay or maternity leave, or entitlement to additional unemployment benefits.

 

This was made very clear to me when I wrote to the Health Secretary calling foul in the change of rules surrounding NHS charges for visiting expats of pensionable age, even though I hadn't mentioned NI contributions in my submission.

 

The NHS is funded from general taxation, many of us pay substantial amounts of UK tax on their pensions, with many joining the ranks of the higher rate tax payers as the freeze in personal allowances bites over the next few years.

 

 

It may be semantics, but the UK does not ring fence income to the Treasury. 

 

Income tax, VAT, CGT, NI all go into a central pot which is then portioned out to the various departments. 

 

Current income is spent.  Some of it may give rise to future entitlements (like OAP at some point, maybe) but the vast, vast majority is spent that fiscal year.  Actually, generally more is spent than is earned, so the debt rises and future generations will have to pay for it, or not - but the Gubmint (or whatever colour)  can continue to promise ever more but tax those who are likley to vote for it ever less - until the whole thing comes crashing down which, for the UK, may be pretty soon.

 

PH

[Chris.B]

1 minute ago, Phulublub said:

It may be semantics, but the UK does not ring fence income to the Treasury. 

 

Income tax, VAT, CGT, NI all go into a central pot which is then portioned out to the various departments. 

 

Current income is spent.  Some of it may give rise to future entitlements (like OAP at some point, maybe) but the vast, vast majority is spent that fiscal year.  Actually, generally more is spent than is earned, so the debt rises and future generations will have to pay for it, or not - but the Gubmint (or whatever colour)  can continue to promise ever more but tax those who are likley to vote for it ever less - until the whole thing comes crashing down which, for the UK, may be pretty soon.

 

PH

????

[Phulublub]

1 minute ago, Chris.B said:

Try reading the original post....

I have, thank you for the advice.   Nowhere, at all, does he infer he has an emergency.  He asked about implications for coming back and several have warned that since it is not an emergency (are we agreed on that?) then he may well be stung for a hefty bill.

 

PH

[sapson]

9 hours ago, sapson said:

  What are the usual obvious symptoms and standard diagnostic tests for TB in Thailand?

Is their a soul with medical knowledge who can answer this query above amongst all the bitching on the rights of a Uk citizen to use the Uk health service.

[it is what it is]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You don't need to work (or be in the UK to pay NI).

I just paid 5 years worth of NI as a cash lump sum.

 

absolutely correct, years ago i paid a lump sum to catch up missing years, and from then on paid class 3 voluntary contributions, with the result i am many years off pension age but already qualify for a full state pension - you can check via the government gateway site.

 

keeping your NI payments up to date, whether in the UK and working or not, is not expensive and is a no brainer.

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, Phulublub said:

But he is not in the UK...and has been suggested that by now he will not be infectious...so, once again, if it is such a serious condition (for the OP) that it is considered necessery to have emergency treatment, then he should be doing exactly that, not flying to the UK and then suddenly "discovering" he has this "emergency".

 

PH

 

PH

At no time did he say or imply he needed emergency treatment.

 

He has a chronic disease (diabetes) and an infectious disease which takes months or even years to treat and involves a combination of nasty meds with nasty side effects (TB). The combination of both has him feeling poorly and he was interested in maybe going back to the UK to get it sorted out by a doctor there.

 

By now he realizes it will not be simple to get care in UK and might cost him a lot.

 

Even if it were free, the cost of travel alone woild likely well exceed the cost of seeing a top notch Western trained doctor hete in Thailand to sort things out. And the latter would certainly be quicker.

 

Likely require a stint in Bangkok or other major city (sounds to me like he was getting care at upcountry govt facility...among other things a private hospital would have given him a quicker course of tteatment e.g 6-9 months not 12). 

 

OP there are some potentially seripus concerns that need to be addressed e.g:

1 - whether any hepatoxicity from the TB meds

2- whether the weight loss is due just to nausea from the meds  leading to less intake or something else going on.

 

Also need to figure out if you can safely discontinue TB treatment.

 

All of this can be done in Thailand -- by doctors trained in the west and fluent in English --  and it will probably not cost much (unless it turns out there is some other wasting disease present but cross that bridge if and when you come to it). 

 

 

[AseanLao]

 

_

Edited November 22, 2021 by AseanLao

[Letseng]

On 11/21/2021 at 1:06 PM, IvorBiggun2 said:

What a load of tosh. Fly into the UK, UK citizen or not, and go to your nearest hospital emergency department and you will be treated free of charge. Them's the rules.

Do you have personal experience? Or do you just recommend what you think will work?

[freedomnow]

13 hours ago, sjd123 said:

You would be wise to get a few utilities connected in your name  before trying to access the system.

 

I did nothing like that and had access immediately on arrival.

 

 

 

On a side note, perhaps the OP has paid in an arm-and-a-leg to the UK NHS in his time. So if he spends 10 years or something in Thailand its the opinion of many he should not if he want go back to his country of birth and cash in his blood sweat and tears ?

 

 

Honestly half the members on this site - its like a reality tunnel they live in. Glad they are not my neighbours.

 

Accept everthing mainstream media feeds them on the covid "narrative" also..."Todays news was brought to you by Pfizer/Moderna etc etc...

[RichardColeman]

On 11/21/2021 at 12:35 PM, blackprince said:

"The NHS is a residence-based healthcare system, so British expats aren’t automatically entitled to medical treatment. It’s worth noting that you must have private medical insurance to cover you, as if you don’t you will face a charge at 150% of the NHS national tariff for any care you receive."

 

Them's the rules.

Treatment or tablets ? I have a condition that I fly back for every 9 months get free health check and then get 9 months of tablets and fly back as the flight is less than the tablets. The consultants and pharmacist say this condition is protected under NHS law and is not affected by living in Thailand.

Treatment on the other hand, is different. You could not expect to go straight back and be no.1 on the health waiting list - that said, I know a few people on NHS waiting lists living in Thailand now that will fly back when their treatment is due.

[IvorBiggun2]

1 hour ago, Letseng said:

Do you have personal experience? Or do you just recommend what you think will work?

I already answered that question.

 

Quote

That may well be true but to get initial emergency treatment it is free. I'm also sure we will all know of some expat here in Thailand that shot off home when they got diagnosed with the need of a heart by-pass and booked themselves into the nearest hospital on arrival. I know 2 guy in the years I've been here.

 

[blackprince]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Treatment or tablets ? I have a condition that I fly back for every 9 months get free health check and then get 9 months of tablets and fly back as the flight is less than the tablets. The consultants and pharmacist say this condition is protected under NHS law and is not affected by living in Thailand.

Treatment on the other hand, is different. You could not expect to go straight back and be no.1 on the health waiting list - that said, I know a few people on NHS waiting lists living in Thailand now that will fly back when their treatment is due.

That's interesting.

 

But specifically about the OP's situation:

1, He is not "ordinarily resident" in the UK.

2. And his condition is not an emergency (we know that because he's posting here, not sitting in A&E, and he's considering traveling around the world for treatment).

Therefore he is not entitled to free NHS treatment.

I've previously outlined the 4 options he has.

 

I've also outlined the risks to him and others by travelling with TB (even more so during this pandemic) 2 or 3 times now.

Edited November 22, 2021 by blackprince

[fredscats]

16 minutes ago, blackprince said:

That's interesting.

 

But specifically about the OP's situation:

1, He is not "ordinarily resident" in the UK.

2. And his condition is not an emergency (we know that because he's posting here, not sitting in A&E, and he's considering traveling around the world for treatment).

Therefore he is not entitled to free NHS treatment.

I've previously outlined the 4 options he has.

 

I've also outlined the risks to him and others by travelling with TB (even more so during this pandemic) 2 or 3 times now.

TB ,infectious disease,will be treated instantly........NHS will only react to what you actually tell them

    There is a nearby location where TB is common  but so too are remedies   India

Edited November 23, 2021 by fredscats

[actonion]

Going back to the Uk for health treatment  is ok if you are registred there with  a  family GP, if not i'm sure you wil have problems..

 

3 years ago  i went back to the UK  for a holiday, while there i had a minor Stroke, my  (Thai)  wife accompanied  me  to the hospital  which i think is what aroused their suspicion, but non the less  after taking blood pressure readings a few times no  other treatment was carried out, when i asked whats the delay they said they were looking for me  on the computer, to see if i was registered with a UK  family GP , fortunately  i was...

[kwonitoy]

21 hours ago, BritManToo said:

And yet a Canadian can cross the US border with no identification.

Which appears at odds with your 'tracking' claim.

Absolute nonsense.

You think I can go to the US border and smile and wave and they'll let me cross? 

[actonion]

On 11/21/2021 at 5:57 PM, Worldplus said:

Well..  I presume I am covered by UK healthcare...not lived in UK for 30 yrs..

 

I am British with a UK passport..

Being a UK citizen "does not"  give you the right to  healthcare in the uk, unless you are registered with a uk family GP,  that helps, But its not a gaurantee 

[actonion]

On 11/21/2021 at 7:06 PM, IvorBiggun2 said:

What a load of tosh. Fly into the UK, UK citizen or not, and go to your nearest hospital emergency department and you will be treated free of charge. Them's the rules.

Them's not the rules at all 

 

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, kwonitoy said:

Absolute nonsense.

You think I can go to the US border and smile and wave and they'll let me cross? 

Always used to at Niagara falls.

[Speedhump]

On 11/21/2021 at 7:02 PM, Mac Mickmanus said:

Well, I suppose that its nice that the Christmas spirt hasn't started too early this year

Yes, a pathetic kneejerk response that made massive and incorrect assumptions. This is a public forum and there's no IQ test required to join. ????

[blackprince]

54 minutes ago, fredscats said:

TB ,infectious disease,will be treated instantly........NHS will only react to what you actually tell them

    There is a nearby location where TB is common  but so too are remedies   India

As I have said a few times now, the OP is not legally entitled to free NHS treatment. He is not "ordinarily resident" and his condition is not an emergency. Cheating the NHS is indeed one of the 4 options I've outlined.

 

As I've also said a few times, people have been pulled off planes by the authorities if they have TB.

 

Then there's the pandemic, which in my understanding of the situation in the UK means that many people are not getting the treatments they would normally get.

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

10 minutes ago, blackprince said:

"ordinarily resident"

Agreed but, irrespective, he is entitled to 'emergency treatment' .

 

 

Quote

 

Treatment

Treatment for TB and Latent TB Infection (LTBI) in the UK is free for everyone, regardless of immigration status and irrespective of eligibility for other NHS care.

 

 

https://www.england.nhs.uk/tuberculosis-programme/

 

[Pravda]

4 hours ago, Letseng said:

Do you have personal experience? Or do you just recommend what you think will work?

He just recommends what he thinks it will work.

[Pravda]

52 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Always used to at Niagara falls.

This isn't 1975