£3500,00 Bill For Nigerian To Give Birth To Twins

[trt]

Not sure how true, but it wouldn't surprise me.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-left-unpaid-bill-350000-9631294

[david small]

I don't believe that for one minute.

[Mamyalynne]

//"They were delivered safely but spent two months in our neonatal intensive care and high dependency units. This is the reason for the high cost and we are currently pursuing the patient for payment."
//


Let's hope they have the right details and the family are suitably grateful for the life saving treatment and pay the bill.

[237SJ]

david small - why don`t you belive it? Do you think that it didn`t happen?

[fiction-factory]

The figure does seem surprisingly high but the hospital has confirmed it according to the article so it seems it is correct. The problem of Nigerians coming here to give birth has been going on for years and is a drain on NHS resources. (Yes I know there will be many UK citizens who have benefitted from the NHS on a similar scale without ever having paid anything in but that's a different issue.) The problem is that no-one seems to have found a solution which involves requiring money up front or refusing treatment- which may be emergency treatment, or a way to recover money from people after they have been treated. I must admit though I don't understand why it can happen here but doesn't seem to happen in the US - do they just turn them away?
Do you have an idea of what should be done trt?

[douglas9401]

Invoice the airline who brought her here. It won't take long for the penny to drop with other carriers then.

[Berniecuddles2]

when any of us go abroad and need hospital care we need insurance to pay for the bill...bout time we introduced national insurance I.D cards here if you have no card you pay for it like we have to abroad

[EDDIE51]

This is another patient brought to the UK on the infamous Lagos Shuttle.
Direct flight from Lagos to Heathrow. The Nigerian government are complicit in this scam by issuing 'permits to travel' to women who are in the final stages of pregnancy.They know the system inside out and make sure they don't present themselves to the medical authorities until they are actually in labour. This means they MUST be treated as an emergency and we (and all other nations) have to offer free treatment in an emergency.
'Lagos Shuttle'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10540881/The-300-maternity-tourists.html

[EDDIE51]

Douglas you CAN NOT invoice the airline as they have done nothing wrong. The Nigerian government issues permits to travel to pregnant women way past the normal date for air travel. The mother or family in Nigeria or other west African citizens just bribe a government official to issue the permit.
Berniecuddles, Your Idea is a non starter as the people know that EMERGENCY treatment MUST be offered ID or not!
These people make sure they do not present themselves to the hospital or doctor until they are so far advanced in pregnancy ( usually already in labour) that they have to be treated for free as an emergency.
I have seen suggestions that we should keep these people and the children here until the bill is paid, however that would count as illegal detention so is also impossible.

[Gromit]

That works out at nearly £6K a day times 2 months.
That Cannot be the actual cost of the care, but an inflated price for accounting purposes.
I doubt they will ever get their money, so good job it is not a real amount.

[EDDIE51]

It is the real amount ! Have you any idea how much neonatal intensive care cost? Remember this is for twins! Plus the actual birth which had major complications and all 3 patients ,( the two babies and the mother) needed emergency transfer to another hospital!

[naomi24]

The cost doesn't surprise me in the least. I doubt it will surprise anyone who's ever paid for private medical care.

[Gladeian]

Bill the Nigerian Government - they are awash with oil money.

[EDDIE51]

Over 80% of the Nigerian 'oil money' is lost to the government in illegal payments , bribes and corruption. Some sources estimate over 90% of Nigerian oil revenue 'disappears' due to corruption! The Government is skint!

[EDDIE51]

This was over 3 years ago, it has got a lot worse since
http://www.ibtimes.com/corruption-nigeria-leaves-76-crude-oil-revenue-unaccounted-says-central-bank-governor-1504848

[Peter Pedant]

oh there is a comma in disarray
and it is £ 350 000

intensive cars is at least £1 000 per day and wizz twins £ 2 000
so that is three months worth without any obstetric costs

no one here besides Sqad and myself knows how expensive medical care yes even in England is.

the difficulty is that there are some things that you cant say
" no pay - well go and have them on the street !"
think Ebola before you say "no there isnt!"

I think TBH this is a costing exercise
and they never really thought they would get paid
just wanted to show how much medical tourism ( well obstetric tourism ) costs

[naomi24]

Peter Pedant, //no one here besides Sqad and myself knows how expensive medical care yes even in England is. //

I know.

[Peter Pedant]

// Bill the Nigerian Government - they are awash with oil money.//

well you can - billing someone is easy it is getting the payment

in this case there is something called 'sovereign immunity' getting in the way. see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_immunity

[ToraToraTora]

galdian: "Bill the Nigerian Government - they are awash with oil money. " - yes and probably awash with our foreign "aid" that we insist on giving away!

[Berniecuddles2]

so come on people ..whats the answer then? to stop this?

[douglas9401]

EDDIE, calm yourself. Two or three demands for payment and a wheel clamp on one of their jets and the whole manky business will stop.
They can and do refuse passengers for a variety of reasons, this is just one more.