Asked by: Alan Duncan (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England seeks to recover the cost of its translation and interpretation services for patients who are not UK residents.
Answered by Alistair Burt
A person who is not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom is subject to the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 which apply charges to overseas visitors for any NHS hospital services they receive, unless an exemption category in the Charging Regulations applies.
Overseas visitors who ordinarily reside outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and who have not paid the Health Surcharge, nor meet any exemption from charge will be charged 150% of the national tariff. Charging 150% of the national tariff provides for additional administrations charges incurred with treating overseas visitors such as translation services.
Charges for overseas visitors who ordinarily reside within EEA states can be claimed from the country they normally reside in.
Asked by: Alan Duncan (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England spent on translation and interpretation services for hospital patients in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We do not hold this information centrally. National Health Service organisations have a duty to follow equalities legislation. This includes making sure their communities can understand information about the NHS services and that patients and clinicians can communicate with each other. We encourage the NHS to be efficient and save money by working together and sharing resources.
Asked by: Alan Duncan (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information NHS England holds on expenditure on translation and interpretation services for (a) EU and (b) non-EU patients.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We do not hold this information centrally. National Health Service organisations have a duty to follow equalities legislation. This includes making sure their communities can understand information about the NHS services and that patients and clinicians can communicate with each other. We encourage the NHS to be efficient and save money by working together and sharing resources.
Asked by: Alan Duncan (Conservative - Rutland and Melton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for a prisoner to see a dentist after having submitted a medical application (a) nationally and (b) at HM Prison Leicester in the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Data is not available in the requested format. A snapshot survey of prison dental services was published by Public Health England in July 2014, in partnership with NHS England and the National Offender Management Service. This identified that approximately 55% of prisoners needing dental treatment following examination were seen within four weeks. A copy of the survey, A survey of dental services in adult prisons in England and Wales is attached.
The survey also identified that prisoners held in category B prisons, including Her Majesty’s Prison Leicester, waited three to four weeks for treatment on average following examination to identify required treatment.