ITV Leaders Debate

I cant say I disagree with it at all, in fact it makes a lot of sense as we wouldn't get away with it in another country.

The only downside is like Andrew pointed out regarding the elderly and infirm, surely the government will accept a pension book or something similar.

People on a 6 month visa or less are suppost to pay for NHS treatment or have travel insurance. I'm not sure how often this is implemented though. My wife registered at the GP while still on a fiancee visa, but never needed hospital treatment so I don't know.

But I know a family where the mother gave birth here on the NHS while here on a tourist visa. And she ain't left even though the visa has now expired.

You could be right maybe the Tories are at it again trying to gain political points

I'm pretty sure the NHS has been turning a blind eye to people wanting hospital treatment, a lot of politics are coming into play here I think. Iread an article on this subject the other week and the figure stated was a lot less than the £2 billion the Tories are now quoting.

Definitely. Immigrants are demonised constantly and it winds me up. My mum is typical. She constantly moans about immigrants, how they use our facilities etc (guess which newspaper she reads!!). If I point out that her daughter-in-law is an immigrant she says: "Oh, well she's ok, obviously", or something along those lines. It's just the ones she doesn't know!

The treatment of my wife (and myself) by this government has been a total disgrace, in my opinion. It has made me not like my country any more.

And where are the Labour party in all this? surely if someone should be opposing the financial limits and costs of spouse visas it's them. But it seems they are afraid to stick up for people being descriminated by this because they're scared of losing votes by looking "pro immigrant". So they're just as bad.

I take it that the "NHS surcharge" of £600 each which I am about to fork over for K and k covers the first six months?

I do recall that when I first visited the UK with my now ex wife she visited a GP and was about to insist on paying when he told her not to bother. But that was for a ten minute consultation.

All this stuff is really bringing in ID cards by the back dooor.

I hope that the upshot of the election will be a return of the ConDem coalition, so the Liberals can stop this nonsense.

My biggest worry is that the SNP will drag the Scots back to the referendum and hold one referendum after another until they get the result that they say they want.

My wife registered at the GP with immediate effect too. My wife used the NHS well within her first 6 months, without hindrance.

But remember Andrew, the upside of it all is that you get to moan like hell about it with us here

Ah, yes, the joys of a good moan...

I have spent a career running ships, and have always said that if you go on board a ship that you manage and nobody moans at you - look out, because something is seriously wrong. If on the other hand you are sat down in the officers' bar and everyone has a dig at you, followed by the same process in the crew bar, then all is well, and you have a happy ship, which 99 times out of 100 means a safe and efficient ship.

I have no problem with producing a passport and indeed an EU medical card for treatment if I am in another country but calling for every British citizen to produce ID "at the point of need" is silly. What about an ambulance attending a road traffic accident? Or a plane crash? Are the ambulancemen to leave the foreigners to die in agony at the scene?

It does help to moan about things in life, better to get things off your chest and out in the open.

Ambulancemen will not leave a "foreigner" to die in agony at the scene of an accident any more than they would leave a native Brit. There are provisions for free emergency treatment in the UK, and that will always be the case.

Another contentious issue is that as a British Citizen who has made a full lifetime of contributions, if you are away from the UK for three months in a year then you are no longer entitled to NHS treatment. I assume that the six month rule will then apply upon return.

But of course that does not have the same element of politically correct injustice because there are no "foreigners" involved.

Lot of truth in that Dave

It's nothing to do with political correctness. People are just looking at their own situations.

It's the Daily Mail that have linked this to foreigners. Hardly the bastion of the Politically Correct.

You say that people in need of urgent treatment wouldn't be left untreated, but it happens in other countries. Philippines is an example of this.

Am quite shocked by this. From our own personal point of view, it would be nice to get Mrs Ash her citizenship asap.

She has residency. It wouldn't affect her as she's entitled to NHS care.

The problem for me is the rocky road this takes us down. The needing of proof being carried, and the implications of people being untreated because they don't have proof.

Plus, a Dave pointed out, this might also affect British people who have paid NI all their lives but been out the country.

When is it supposed to kick in?

Who knows. It's a newspaper story. Could turn out to be a load of old nonsense anyway!!

Exactly. Thats why I asked. Wasnt certain. You guys might not be affected by it.