Revealed: cost of NHS tourism

The full cost to hospitals of so-called NHS tourism in London is exposed today.

An investigation found that the cost of treating only 71 immigrants over a period of three months topped a quarter of a million pounds.

The extraordinary bill represents just a fraction of the real cost - thousands of foreigners who are not entitled to free NHS treatment manage to get free care without being detected. Figures compiled by the Tory party say the true cost to the NHS could be £2 billion a year.

Evidence of the scale of the problem emerged following an investigation by one of the capital's major health trusts. It discovered-that between September and November last year, the cost of treating 71 overseas patients was £251,000, with much of the burden falling on accident and emergency units, cardiac specialists and maternity services.

None of the patients were entitled to free care on the NHS because they were staying in Britain illegally.

The figure does not include the cost of treating overseas HIV patients, which was a further £32,000. The hospital estimates that over a year, the total bill for the 71 patients would be at least £772,000 - not including HIV treatment. The hospital - which has not been identified but is in a borough with one of the highest concentrations of ethnic minority communities in the country - investigated how many overseas patients demanding treatment were entitled to receive free care.

Of 514 foreigners who visited the hospital between January 2002 and March this year, more than half - 234 - were not eligible for free care. A total of 146 showed passports which had expired, 21 carried forged passports, and 11 had fraudulent Home Office asylum certificates.

Simon Williams, of the Patients' Association, said: "The concern is that legitimate patients are not getting the care they need because of people coming in from abroad."

BBC One: Real Story Special - NHS Tourism, 7.30 tonight.