An Australian friend needing medical treatment when visiting

[devonwoody]

I long and existing friend on the Australian forum wanting to visit the UK for a holiday but his wife needs constant medical attention whilst here.

Can anyone please advise him if the NHS will treat them freely. They are not coming for medical treatment which they get freely in Oz. but they are most probably wanting to visit their old country but I assume private health insurance would not cover the situation.

See this link to get some details.

http://www.woodworkforums.com/186285-uk ... -required/

 

[mikefab]

NHS treatment is free for UK residents. So they would need to pay I'm afraid.

Mike

 

[devonwoody]

However Mike, we do have something called reciprocating agreements with some countries and Australia is one of them. I think the problem is that it might not be considered emergency but was ongoing treatment the problem for Cliff and his wife.

 

[Harbo]

According to my Pharmacist wife, the drug is available in tablet form, so cannot your Oz friend bring a supply with them?

Rod

 

[devonwoody]

According to my Pharmacist wife, the drug is available in tablet form, so cannot your Oz friend bring a supply with them?

Rod

Cliff has this forum link so no doubt he will see your post, thanks for your post.

 

[beech1948]

The NHS/UK Gov provide a Form E1 ( or something close to that name) which can be used in Foreign hospitals. Does the Australian Gov do anything similar. I have used this once when in the US. The US hospital accepted it and as far as I know the costs were reimbursed from UK NHS.

 

[devonwoody]

The NHS/UK Gov provide a Form E1 ( or something close to that name) which can be used in Foreign hospitals. Does the Australian Gov do anything similar. I have used this once when in the US. The US hospital accepted it and as far as I know the costs were reimbursed from UK NHS.

Australia were brilliant for us, my wife fell over in Oz and they replaced complete hip joints freely and magnificent rehab afterwards, she was able to stand on her feet all day in Sydney 4 weeks after op. and we stayed with many Oz. friends for a further six months because no flying after that op was allowed.

Actually the best holiday we ever had say both of us apart from early pain the first three weeks. (we had no insurance and no accommodation arranged )

 

[SpinDoctor]

Being that I'm australian and living here now I have a bit of knowledge on this. When I looked into what is include I came to the conclusion that only essential unplanned treatment is part of the reciprocal treatment agreement between Aus and UK. I.e. If I were to get into an accident and require medical attention and essential drugs I wouldn't have to worry about being billed later. Or if I were to contract pneumonia I could be fairly confident that treatment would be at no cost to me... If I show up with a pre-existing condition, like any country, I won't be covered. There maybe a variation to that, in that if a person were to have a sudden change in their pre-existing condition that needed immediate medical attention they could expect treatment without fearing a bill later. YMMV

He should try a private doctor over a hospital. An example of obtaining a prescription of X drug on NHS, it's £8, where as a private doctor will include his/her fee so the total would be £44... It appears you can find a private doctor here who'll be wiling to hand out anything for the right price - just have to shop around. In Cliff's case the drug maybe the significant majority of the cost.

Hey Cliff, sorry to hear about your wife. Last time I was on the forum you weren't married, or at least I didn't know you were... I went by the name Toolin Around downunda.

 

[Harbo]

The E111 card now known as EHIC is only valid within the European Economic Area - no use in the States.

I think you were very lucky?

Rod

 

[nanscombe]

Australian Government - Department of Human Services

Reciprocal Health Care Agreements

Covers the cost of essential medical treatment for Australian residents travelling in some countries. Under these Agreements, some health services and subsidised medicines are provided to visitors from these countries when they are in Australia.

If you travel overseas you can get help with the cost of essential medical treatment in some countries under the Australian Government’s Reciprocal Health Care Agreements.

The Australian Government has agreements with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Belgium, Malta, Slovenia and Norway. These agreements mean:

Australian residents can get help with the cost of essential medical treatment when visiting these countries
residents of these countries can get some essential medical treatments while visiting Australia.
Students from Norway, Finland, Malta and the Republic of Ireland aren’t covered by agreements with those countries.

Reciprocal Health Care Agreements aren’t designed to replace private travel health insurance for overseas travel.
...

Participating RHCA countries - UK (Reciprocal Healthcare Agreements)

...
What is covered?
Medical treatment and other services normally provided by a doctor to NHS patients.
In-patient treatment including medicine, nursing care and accommodation in a public ward of a NHS hospital.
Out-patient treatment in a NHS hospital.
NHS prescription medicine where the doctor treats you as a NHS patient (a small fee is charged).
Ambulance travel to and from or between NHS hospitals and other facilities operating under the NHS Scheme.

What is not covered?
Non-subsidised medicine from retail pharmacies.
Medicine prescribed by the doctor treating you as a private patient.
All treatment and appliances provided by NHS dentists and for dental appliances supplied to out-patients at NHS hospitals.
...

As above -> Contact Us