Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Overseas Visitors
Health

David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health

(1) what costs have been invoiced to foreign patients not entitled to free NHS care by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years;

(2) what proportion of costs invoiced to foreign patients not entitled to free NHS care by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust have been written off in each of the last five years.

Simon Burns (Minister of State (Health), Health; Chelmsford, Conservative)

Trusts' accounts report total audited income from overseas patients under non-reciprocal arrangements⁽¹⁾, and bad debt and claims abandoned for overseas patients. As well as foreign nationals who are not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, the data include income from, and written off debt for, UK nationals who are not ordinarily resident here.

The value of bad debt and claims abandoned for overseas patients for Hull and East Yorkshire National Health Service Trust (HEY) for 2006-07 to 2010-11 is shown in the following table.

⁽¹⁾ This means the amount invoiced for national health service hospital treatment to overseas patients not entitled to free NHS care.

HEY's accounts report no income related to overseas patients in the years in question. However, HEY has informed the Department that the income has been recorded in its accounts under the private patient income heading. My right hon. Friend may wish to approach HEY for further information.