Help to transform our extraordinary hospital into something even better.
View: 1150
Download: 4
As a visitor to the United Kingdom, you may be required to pay for your child’s NHS funded secondary care treatment. This applies regardless of nationality, having an NHS number or being registered at a GP practice, even if you are a former UK resident or tax payer. It is your responsibility to show that your child is entitled to this treatment by providing documentary evidence prior to any treatment they receive. This evidence should show that either:
If you consider that your child is not a visitor to the UK and instead is ordinarily resident here, you may also have to provide documentary evidence to support this. Your documentary evidence will be used to determine their eligibility for NHS funded secondary care treatment. If you do not provide satisfactory evidence to support a claim that your child is entitled to NHS funded secondary care treatment, you will be liable for the cost of any treatment they receive
If you are a visitor or a student from the European Economic Area (EEA) and your child requires medical treatment, you need to provide a non-UK valid EHIC for them to ensure you are not charged for their healthcare. The EHIC will cover them for all medically necessary treatment during their stay although you should keep in mind that the UK’s healthcare system may be different from that in your home country and therefore their EHIC might not cover everything that you would expect to get free in your country. You should also be aware that the EHIC is not an alternative to travel insurance and will not cover any private medical healthcare or being flown back home. Planned treatment is also not covered by the EHIC and unless you have valid documentation (an ‘S2’ form) you may be charged for your child’s treatment.
Every provider of NHS funded secondary care in the UK is required to check all patients for their eligibility to NHS funded treatment. This is done by assessing if a patient is ordinarily resident in the UK or, if not, whether an exemption from charge category applies to them. You should therefore be prepared to provide evidence to demonstrate your child’s eligibility for NHS funded Secondary Care, which can be done by providing copies of:
and
If you are a visitor or a student from the European Economic Area (EEA) and your child requires medical treatment, you need to provide a non-UK valid EHIC for them to ensure you are not charged for their healthcare. The EHIC will cover them for all medically necessary treatment during their stay although you should keep in mind that the UK’s healthcare system may be different from that in your home country and therefore their EHIC might not cover everything that you would expect to get free in your country. You should also be aware that the EHIC is not an alternative to travel insurance and will not cover any private medical healthcare or being flown back home. Planned treatment is also not covered by the EHIC and unless you have valid documentation (an ‘S2’ form) you may be charged for your child’s treatment.
Every provider of NHS funded secondary care in the UK is required to check all patients for their eligibility to NHS funded treatment. This is done by assessing if a patient is ordinarily resident in the UK or, if not, whether an exemption from charge category applies to them. You should therefore be prepared to provide evidence to demonstrate your child’s eligibility for NHS funded Secondary Care, which can be done by providing copies of:
and
Although they may be registered with a GP and may receive free NHS primary care services, this does not mean that they are entitled to NHS funded secondary care treatment, even if the GP refers them for it.
If they are in the UK on a temporary stay of more than 6 months, and you have paid the Immigration Health Surcharge at the time of your child’s visa application, they will receive free NHS care as long as their leave to remain is still valid, except for charges that residents have to pay, for example prescriptions. If they are not resident in the UK but are exempt from charge, for example they are from a country that has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK, such as Australia, you will need to provide evidence of this.
Some services or treatments carried out in an NHS hospital are free of charge. These include:
Some categories of patients are also exempt from charge, including any condition caused by certain types of violence. A full list of exemptions can be found on Gov.uk
If the treatment your child requires is deemed by the clinician to be immediately necessary or urgent it will not be withheld and will go ahead without delay, although you will still be charged for the treatment if no exemption category applies to them.
If you do not pay before treatment, charges will be made after their treatment and you will be required to pay.
If you do need to pay for your child’s treatment, you will receive an invoice and will be required to pay the full cost of their hospital treatment. This invoice will be estimated based on expected treatment. However, if the final cost of treatment is different to the estimated cost you will be either reimbursed any money owed to you or additional charges will be made to cover the higher cost of treatment. Always ensure you have adequate travel insurance in place to cover unexpected health needs during your stay.
Overseas Visitor Team
0114 3053636
scn-tr.overseas.visitors@nhs.net
Paying patients webpage
Please note: this is a generic information sheet relating to care at Sheffield Children’s NHS FT. These details may not reflect treatment at other hospitals. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professionals’ instructions. If this resource relates to medicines, please read it alongside the medicine manufacturer’s patient information leaflet. If this information has been translated into another language from English, efforts have been made to maintain accuracy, but there may still be some translation errors. If you are unsure about any of the guidance in this resource or have specific questions about how it relates to your child, always ask your healthcare professional for further advice.
Resource number: PPS1
Resource Type: Article
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TH
United Kingdom
Switchboard: 0114 271 7000
We’ve got a special MRI scanner just for teddies so children can see what it’s like before they have a scan.
Help to transform our extraordinary hospital into something even better.