by Poorni Jaganathan
My ayya (grandmother) was diagnosed with terminal colorectal cancer in October 2003. She had been in the UK for one month to visit us. It was meant to be a trip for her to get to know her grandchildren better, to see the country they had been raised in, the opportunities it had opened up for them. I believe she experienced the best of this country, but in way that none of us at the time could have imagined.
My ayya experienced wonderful care from doctors in the NHS. At no point was her nationality a cause for suspicion or derision. She was an Indian national, yes, but first and foremost a human being whom was terminally ill and needed help.
She had surgery, followed by months of gruelling radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Even though she eventually succumbed to her illness I will be forever thankful that she was treated well and within a system that I fully believe highlights the compassion of the British people. Her acceptance into the healthcare system is something I know, she was incredibly grateful for.
Aneurin Bevin created the NHS in 1948. He wanted a health system with, according to NHS England, three principles at its core:-
1. That it meets the needs of everyone
2. That it be free at the point of delivery
3. That it is based on clinical need, not ability to pay.
Note that none of the above makes reference to the demographics of recipients of care within the NHS.
So then, what makes someone, ‘eligible,’ to use NHS services? Maybe those who contribute to it and pay their taxes should only use the NHS. That should mean that all those U.K. born nationals who are out of work and on benefits, not paying taxes, should also be made to pay out of pocket. Technically, children don’t pay any taxes and thus don’t contribute to the NHS in a productive manner. So then, should we start charging children too?
Jeremy Hunt has estimated that the cost of non-EU citizens using NHS services could be around £12 million.
Whilst Hunt no doubt used this figure as a means of scaring the British public, when contextualised, one begins to understand how much this issue has been pushed to further the Tory agenda. Mona Chalabi points out that health tourism costs, ‘equate to fulfilling 0.06% of the savings,’ that need to be made in the NHS. So why is this issue the Tories have decided to focus their attentions on?
harging non-EU citizens could be the beginning of a very slippery slope. The care a doctor provides to patients shouldn’t be restricted by nationality or bank balance. Care should be provided to patients because they are in need of the services and by the very virtue of their humanity.
Mario Cuomo once famously stated, ‘candidates campaign in poetry but govern in prose.’ Sitting on their thrones in Whitehall, what Tories fail to realise is that there are very real people who will be affected by their discriminatory policy.