WARNING: Health tourists are seriously damaging our nation's wealth

By Keith Gladdis & Lee Harpin

FOREIGNERS flocking to Britain to fiddle free healthcare are defrauding the NHS out of more than £2BILLION a year —enough to build 20 new hospitals.

And while hordes of "health tourists" cynically con their way to hugely expensive treatment, law-abiding Brits endure National Insurance hikes and ever-increasing hospital waiting lists.

We can reveal that 100,000 foreigners turn up at emergency wards each year claiming to have "suddenly" fallen ill.

Exploit

But many have long-term diseases like kidney failure and others even need organ transplants. Some receive treatment costing more than £50,000.

Thousands of heavily pregnant women arrive here specifically to exploit our system. Some inner city maternity wards complain that HALF their patients are from abroad. Most get care worth over £1,500.

And at least 6,000 HIV sufferers are coming into the UK annually, according to the Institute Of Hepatology—each taking treatment costing £15,000 a year.

Some AIDS clinics reveal that up to 80 PER CENT of patients have lived in the UK for less than a year. The potential bill is £900 million and rising. Last year immigration overtook gay sex as our biggest source of HIV infection.

Hospitals should charge pat-ients not eligible for NHS care. But the vast majority skip the country without paying a penny.

And the crisis is made worse by the increase in asylum seekers and people on work visas ENTITLED to free treatment.

News   investigators talked to NHS bosses, consultants, doctors and Whitehall administrators to assemble our terrifying dossier.

The statistics are shocking. An incredible 95 per cent of hepatitis B cases reported here are actually contracted outside Britain—each costs us £10,000 a year.

And 40 per cent of London's acute psychiatric beds are taken up by foreigners. Australian backpackers doing Europe head to Britain first where they immediately use their visas to register with a GP and get free travel jabs and tablets—saving £300.

And, as figures collated by the Conservative Party put that £2billion price tag on the medical freeloading scandal, health chiefs warn that overstretched hospitals simply cannot cope.

Dr Anne Edwards, a consultant at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, said: "We're in crisis. Not only do we not have enough money for our own population but we're having to treat lots of people from other countries.

"We're shelling out huge amounts of money. A lot of people are resentful."

Richard Rawlins, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Bedford Hospital, said: "One solution could be the introduction of entitlement cards. The alternative is total anarchy, where the British NHS becomes responsible for medical care of three-quarters of the world's population."

GPs are considered the "gatekeepers" of the NHS because any non-emergency patient wanting hospital treatment must be referred by them.

A BBC1 Real Story documentary tomorrow shows how foreigners can sign up for free treatment simply giving a fake address.

But GPs in one London health trust were recently advised NOT to seek proof of entitlement—for fear of discriminating against refugees and asylum seekers.

GPs face legal action if they attempt to strike off suspected cheats. Manchester doctor Ian Burton tried to remove an Iranian family who registered a growing number of relatives and visitors at their address.

Court

He was threatened with the Commission for Racial Equality.

"Our own defence organisation said that if it went to court we'd have lots of bad publicity," he said. "From that point we've not policed anything."

But Ronald Langstaff, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at a busy west London hospital, insisted: "This isn't a racial issue, it's a resources and entitlement issue."

He knew one case where a foreign woman turned up at casualty demanding dialysis.

He said: "When told she wasn't entitled she turned round and said if they didn't treat her she'd apply for asylum and get it free anyway! That is blatant abuse."