Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of ID checks and charges on waiting times for urgent treatment for non-UK citizens in (a) Birmingham and (b) England.

There is no requirement on National Health Service staff to check every patient’s identification and asking for, or providing, ID is not a requirement of The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 (as amended) and therefore no assessment has been made of the effect on access to healthcare.

It is for providers of NHS care to assure themselves that they are doing everything reasonable to determine the eligibility of patients who are entitled to receive free NHS care, an entitlement based on residency not nationality.

Treatment that clinicians consider is needed immediately or urgently will never be withheld, irrespective of if a patient is chargeable or not.