Charges for my treatment!

loubiedoouk

Hi all.

I was diagnosed with RA 5 years ago, I received Infliximab intravenously and Methotrexate. I was very luck as the medication worked well. 3 years ago my husband was offered a job in Africa, this would mean me travelling to a from Africa every 3 months, ie, 3 months overseas, 3 months in the UK. I was switched to Enbrel injections which are wonderful, however on my last visit to Rheumatology, I was informed I was no longer classed as a UK resident (I have property in the UK) and would have to pay for any further medications and consultations. I was also informed my GP had deleted me from their practice. Granted, I never see my GP as I am pain free and have no need to visit my GP. I was not informed by the practice that I had been deleted!!!!!!

I also would receive 3 months worth of injections which would thankfully last me a year as I inject once a month not once a week and am fortunate to be pain free by reducing my medication. Therefore, only needing to visit my Rheumatologist on a yearly basis.

If anybody has any advice at all I would really appreciate it, can I re-register with my GP? Will they take me? Who can I contact to help me with this fight with Huddersfield NHS Trust.

Phew

Thank you

Louise Dawson

kellerman

Hi Louise
I presume you have a British Passport and you are British.
This is an odd one. Firstly from what you say you live in the UK half of the year. Why on earth as the GP deleted you from the practice?
It doesn't make sense.
I would imagine the rheumy is saying this because you are no longer with a GP. Do they say why they have deleted you?
To get NHS treatment you have to be registered with a GP.
If your old one won't take you back....they have to have a good reason then contact Huddlesfield PCT and if they are not helpful contact PALS.
What if you needed emergency help in the time you are in this country.
Explain to them your predicament.
I wish you luck...May

barbara12

Hi Louise
Gosh what a shock that is, Im sure they cant start to charge has you are still a British citizen, but to be honest I would ring the helpline on this one, just to clear things up.
I do hope you get some answers, and good luck with your meds and the travelling x

loubiedoouk

Thanks for the advise so far everybody.

Yes I do have a British Passport which I had to show to Huddersfield Royal 2 weeks ago - they asked if I had any other passport which I don't!!! I will call my GP on Wednesday as it's public hols at the moment and try to get to the bottom of this whole mess.

Fingers crossed

Louise
x

hileena111

Isnt it typical that it is always the holidays or the weekend when something happens :roll:
I think it must have started with the GP.....then because you wern't with a GP this is when the hospital kicked in.
I'm not really sure but thats my reading of it.....You say you are going to get in touch with the GP on Wed.....I think thats all you can do then as May says...PALS is your next step
Good luck and let us know
Love
Hileena

creakyowl

Don't know if it helps but when I check in at our local hospital for appointments, one of the questions asked is "have you been resident in the UK for the past 12 months?". I think this is a condition of NHS free treatment.

Obviously people have to travel for work commitments and holidays etc and maybe they have assumed you are in Africa full time and not resident here in the UK at all.

Ex-pats in Spain and other countries who live abroad also become ineligible after 12 months continuously away I believe. Instead, as long as you live in an EU country you become eligible for reciprocal care under the is it E111 form, the little blue card you take on holiday anyway. I think if you live outside the EU it needs to be on insurance of some type or another.

I know! It seems crazy but may well be the rules.

Creaky

loubiedoouk

Thank you.

xxx

kellerman

Hi Again,
None of this explains why your GP has taken you off their list.
This is the first question I'd be asking.I would have expected an explation as each GP gets paid for patients on their list whether you see them daily/monthly/yearly.
You are British and spend half the year here. Let us know what reasons you are given.
If you get no joy then PALS is definately the way to go.
Hospitals will ask for your Gp and as of the moment you haven't got one you will not be entitled to NHS care.
I could understand it better if you were spending all your time abroad and just coming here for the medical care free but as this isn't the case it looks like that is what the powers that be think.
You get at it in the morning and the best of luck to you. May

freesia

QUOTED FROM CREAKYOWL

"EU country you become eligible for reciprocal care under the is it E111 form, the little blue card you take on holiday anyway. I think if you live outside the EU it needs to be on insurance of some type or another"

Just taken the above small quote from creakowl.....

If you spend the majority of time away from UK - you can still get help from the UK "UNDER RECIPROCOL CARE" if the country you come from is covered under the EU... I don't think Africa is....?? You will need to check this fact..

There "may" be a private charge for any GP visits & Medication too.... your surgery should be able to give you all this information...

Sometimes a reason a GP would have de-registered you is when post is returned to your practice "undelivered" it is done as a security thing / OR they may have heard you have moved outside the EU....When you are de-registered this is done on the "National NHS Spine Computer" which is why the hospital know... You can certainly RE-register with any GP - BUT they might say you need to register as a TR (which is a temporary resident) and you MAY have to pay private fees...

The best suggestion I could offer you is to ring your surgery and ask to speak with the practice manager for clarification....

Hope this helps..

JoeB2

Entitlement to N.H.S. treatment (emergency care excepted) is based upon having been resident in the U.K. (or another E.U. Member state) for the preceding 12 months. It has nothing to do with holding a U.K. passport (bizarre as it may seem).

However, many G.P.s will be happy to offer care by having you register as a Temporary Resident. Thay actually receive a higher rate of reimbursement from the Primary Care Trust for seeing Temporary Residents.

As other posters have advised and I would reiterate - it is worth verifying if a reciprocal aggreement exisits between the country in which you usually reside and the U.K.. I know that one does between the U.K. and Australia but I have no experience or knowledge of any other countries.

Somewhat contrary to popular belief - The only value of a U.K. passport is simply to advise a U.K. Border Agency Immigration Officer that you have a legal entitlement to (re-)enter the U.K. (and even then it is at the Home Secretary's discretion).

Arthur

loubiedoouk

Thanks again everybody, you've all been a huge help. I will be calling my GP this morning, however it's not looking good. I'm being punished for being honest! I just cannot believe they have given me this treatment which makes me pain free knowing I travel a lot without any warning this could happen and now they are taking it away (OK charging me for it).

Incidently, can anybody give me a rough idea of the costs for Enbrel injections - I believe it's expensive!

Thanks again

xxx

dreamdaisy

Hello, this is a thorny one isn't it? I honestly don't know the answers to any of your questions but I have been told that my anti TNF treatment (humira) costs my Trust between £8,000 and £10,000 per annum. DD

loubiedoouk

Hi all

Ironically, the GP's practice manager doesn't work on Wednesday!!!

Will keep you posted.

Have a good day!

Louise
xx

tillytop

Hello and a belated welcome from me.

So sorry you are having these difficulties.

Apologies if someone has already suggested this to you - but have you thought about asking the Citizens Advice Bureau for some advice on this? They may well be able to help you find out exactly what the situation is which may give you some "ammunition" for when you do manage to speak to the Practice Manager.

Really hope you get it sorted out though.

Tillyxxx

loubiedoouk

Thanks Tilly

I'll try anything, need as much 'amo' as possible.

Take care

xxx

cthornley

please see this leaflet for a bit of clarification
http://www.pah.nhs.uk/files/c) Non Resident UK Citizens.pdf
I would think that you may be able to apply point 3
Medication and treatment is the main reason we haven't moved abroad for work as otherwise the many job opportunities all look far better prospects than here.
Chrissie

loubiedoouk

Thank you so much Chrissie - you have made my day today!!!

This does apply to me, however I am not employed overseas - I volunteer, but I'm sure it still applies.

Thanks again!!

Louise

freesia

Hi Louise...

Did you get any "joy" from your surgery....???

loubiedoouk

Hey hey

I had no joy with the practice manager who was actually quite rude and just told me my records had been deleted because somebody had told the surgery I had moved overseas - which is incorrect information. She didn't tell me why they didn't inform me either.

So, I contacted PALS who were also pretty useless and told me to re-register with a GP. I now have my dad on the case as I'm currently in Africa for about another month (or may have to return to UK earlier), he's going to speak to his GP and let me know. The leaflet that Chrissie sent me was very useful and I also found the same information on the NHS website:

Exempt from payment if I lived overseas for less than 5 years but in the UK for 10 years prior.

This applies to me so I think I have a case.

Sorry for the delay in replying - yesterday was my birthday :-) and I didn't want to ruin a lovely day speaking to NHS people and today we've had no electricity for 10 hours - gosh the fun never ends hey :-(

I'll keep popping updates up though and again a massive thanks to everybody for their feedback.

Hugs

Louise
x

loubiedoouk

Wow, the NHS really do drag their heels when they have made a mistake hey!!!

Firstly thank you Chrissie for the information you sent me - they have now agreed that I am exempt from payment IF I can prove I have lived in the UK for 10 years continuously at any given time. So now I have to try and contact old employers and schools to get the information the NHS needs, or I could suggest the NHS contact my parents and they will tell them about the first 23 years of my life I spent in the UK!!!! Surely there is an easier way to prove my residence.

At the end of the day, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and a big complaint will be coming from me. They just literally washed their hands of me!!

So a massive thanks to everybody for their help I don't know what I would have done without you guys.

Hope you all have a good pain free day

Louise

xxxxx