Travel Insurance For Thai In Uk

[DannyDakota]

Far our upcoming trip to UK we have bought travel insurance for my GF.

But I was just wondering what the mechanics of it were if she should need to use the medical part of it.

For example, are local GPs clued up for dealing with insurance?

What about in A&E departments?

Here in Thailand, where I have to pay for everything, they are obviously prepared for receiving payments but being British I am unaware of how they accept payments in NHS facilities.

[SantiSuk]

Yes they are clued up. On admission to a hospital or setting up a GP appointment (try your own family GP) they will ask for an NHI number and your GP's name and address. If you can't give one (or you have to disclose to the GP that she is not registered with them they will take it from there. All hospitals have cashiers!

I have heard that A&Es will treat the patient first and ask questions later if it is an accident.

My GP's surgery accepted my young daughter for a free consultation on something routine (we were visiting and she's dual passport but not automatically entitled to free treatment in the UK) - the attitude was that it was easier to examine her than to fill out all the paperwork. So you should not assume its going to cost you money or an insurance claim if something goes wrong.

[DannyDakota]

Yes they are clued up. On admission to a hospital or setting up a GP appointment (try your own family GP) they will ask for an NHI number and your GP's name and address. If you can't give one (or you have to disclose to the GP that she is not registered with them they will take it from there. All hospitals have cashiers!

I have heard that A&Es will treat the patient first and ask questions later if it is an accident.

My GP's surgery accepted my young daughter for a free consultation on something routine (we were visiting and she's dual passport but not automatically entitled to free treatment in the UK) - the attitude was that it was easier to examine her than to fill out all the paperwork. So you should not assume its going to cost you money or an insurance claim if something goes wrong.

Cheers SantiSuk, many thanks for your informative answer.

If you don't mind me asking, why isn't your daughter entitled to NHS treatment? I am asking because my son, born in Thailand, might be in a similar situation.

[citizen33]

The regulations on this changed last year and may do so again soon, so it is worth keeping up to date. There is the added complication that the four UK countries now all have slightly different rules. Insurance is obviously a good idea, but in some cases it won't be necessary to use it. GPs still have discretion whether or not to treat an overseas visitor free. Recently I took a Thai visitor (who had insurance) to my own UK GP practice and found they would only see the patient privately. A GP practice around the corner was willing to give a free consultation and NHS prescription (much less hassle in terms of paper work for my friend). NHS walk-in centres will also provide free care for overseas visitors. With hospitals things are more complicated and usually involve a charge. However, treatment within an A&E department, which does not result in a hospital admission is still free. Take a look here for the 2011 regulations relating to England:

http://www.dh.gov.uk...t/dh_133999.pdf

You will see that nationality does not determine right to exemption from treatment charges (for instance in the case of the child mentioned above). The test is whether the person is ordinarily resident in the UK. If the child is accompanied by a parent who is ordinarily resident, the child will also be considered to be ordinarily resident. The question of who is ordinarily resident also applies to returning expats, but this takes us into the grey area of informal practice and what people can get away with if they maintained their GP registration and/or UK address.

I get the impression that under the present Government, and especially with the move to greater use of private sector facilities in England, the charging regime for hospitals will be tightened up further. The issue of whether GPs should all charge is presently out to consultation.

Edited May 13, 2012 by citizen33

[DannyDakota]

The regulations on this changed last year and may do so again soon, so it is worth keeping up to date. There is the added complication that the four UK countries now all have slightly different rules. Insurance is obviously a good idea, but in some cases it won't be necessary to use it. GPs still have discretion whether or not to treat an overseas visitor free. Recently I took a Thai visitor (who had insurance) to my own UK GP practice and found they would only see the patient privately. A GP practice around the corner was willing to give a free consultation and NHS prescription (much less hassle in terms of paper work for my friend). NHS walk-in centres will also provide free care for overseas visitors. With hospitals things are more complicated and usually involve a charge. However, treatment within an A&E department, which does not result in a hospital admission is still free. Take a look here for the 2011 regulations relating to England:

http://www.dh.gov.uk...t/dh_133999.pdf

You will see that nationality does not determine right to exemption from treatment charges (for instance in the case of the child mentioned above). The test is whether the person is ordinarily resident in the UK. If the child is accompanied by a parent who is ordinarily resident, the child will also be considered to be ordinarily resident. The question of who is ordinarily resident also applies to returning expats, but this takes us into the grey area of informal practice and what people can get away with if they maintained their GP registration and/or UK address.

I get the impression that under the present Government, and especially with the move to greater use of private sector facilities in England, the charging regime for hospitals will be tightened up further. The issue of whether GPs should all charge is presently out to consultation.

Thanks Citizen, that is a very interesting post. A bit of an eye-opener.

Never mind worrying about my son's entitlement, I need to worry about my own!

I can imagine a lot of 'ex-pats' don't realise that they might in fact be losing their entitlement to NHS treatment.

In reality I doubt many GPs check up on where any Brit has been residing in the previous 12 months.

For myself, I think I could prove my 'centre of interest' remains in UK and therefore I remain resident. If so, then my son will also be entitled.

But, as you say, certainly not clear cut and if GPs/Hospitals/NHS Trusts get accustomed to checking up then things could be very different.